Breaking up the Girl
by Wildfire Dragon
Summary: Draco is challenged to break Hermione Granger by Blaise Zabini. Quite a dark fanfic. Will there be a happy ending for the Slytherin god and Gryffindor Princess or will he really break up the girl?
1. Chapter 1

BREAKING UP THE GIRL

Draco Malfoy sat in the Slytherin carriage of the Hogwarts express, surronded by his faithful cronies and realised that for the second time in his whole life, he felt restless. Normally he was content with the sniping and exchanging of gossip that went on between his classmates but nothing seemed capable of holding his attention today.

"Did you hear Weasley and the filthy mudblood broke it off? I wonder if he crawled between those holy thighs first." Blaise muttered to Pansy, who screeched hideously and began twisting a piece of her hair around her finger, her doe eyes wide on Blaise's amber orbs. We're not even halfway to Hogwarts and already Pansy is in heat, Draco thought scathingly. He hadn't felt a woman beneath him since the beginning of the summer and the disastrous reunion with the girls his parents wanted him to marry. She had been good enough, until she had gone and broken her vow, throwing the Slytherin favour, in his family for generations and no mere token, at his feet. She had wounded the pride of a Malfoy and that was a dangerous game in which to dabble. His father had to be talked down from using an unforgivable. The thought had pleased Draco to begin with, the honour of his family was not something to be taken lightly and the girl had trod all over those principles. She was from a good family, pureblood, only the best and yet she had chosen to run away with a muggleborn, a student from the year above Draco, who to his absolute enragement, had been Gryffindor.

"Repeat Blaise." he commanded and listened to Blaise retell all he knew of the Weasel and Bookworm's relationship. Four months, following the Boy who Lived around like servants, holding hands and stealing chaste kisses.

"Interested in the Bookworm, Draco?" Theodore Nott piped up, unwrapping a chocolate frog and putting it into his mouth. Draco was tempted to make him choke on it but before he could refute the claim he heard the Bookworm's voice, as if on cue.

"All prefects report to the second carriage for a prefects meeting." she slid open the door to the Slytherin compartment and froze. Draco found himself watching her carefully, there was no fear in her eyes, the fear he provoked from students in the years below him who scattered whenever he was near. She would never run, she would stand her ground and take everything he threw at her. She was a barrier against the storm.

"We heard you mudblood, do you always have to make yourself heard or does nobody notice you unless you are squawking about some useless piece of wizarding history that doesn't even belong to you?" he snarled, refusing to let his thoughts stray. He liked a girl who could challenge him and there weren't many to be found in Hogwarts. Most were desperate to get the honour of the Malfoy crest on their finger, they never resisted him, never toyed with him. Except the Bookworm.

"Awful longwinded for an insult Malfoy. Maybe you're losing your touch." she threw back, pirouetting out of the apartment, leaving a sniggering Nott and Blaise behind her. They shut up when Draco's glare fell on them and he sank into a moody silence until the train pulled into the station.

Hermione POV

Hermione straightened her robes and pinned the Prefect badge to her chest, ignoring the awkward silence that had filled the compartment since Lavender had made an appearance.

She was over Ron, she had tried to reassure Harry but he seemed to think she was more broken than she really was. The truth was, she wasn't particularly upset. The feelings she had for Ron were strange, she couldn't explain them even to herself but she could never have sat on Ron's lap for a whole train journey and kissed him throughout it, never once coming up for air. It wasn't just that she wasn't particularly fond of public displays of affection but he couldn't hold her interest for that length of time. She would begin to get twitchy, her insecurities would take hold and she would shy away to her books. She didn't even know if anybody could hold her attention for that amount of time. To waste it on something as stupid as kissing when there were books to be read seemed incomprehensible. Maybe she was different from other girls or maybe Ron simply wasn't the one for her. Viktor Krum had understood, he still did and as far as she was aware, he was completely unattached. His kisses had alighted a fire in her but he had been more than happy to sit before the fire and discuss magic instead of spending all his time pawing at her. That was the type of boy she needed, somebody mature.

When Ginny entered the carriage and started flirting with Harry, Hermione decided it was time to gather together the Prefects for their meeting with McGonaghall. There was no set time for their meeting but somehow the teacher always seemed to know when the students were gathered, waiting for her.

"All prefects report to the second carriage for Prefects meeting." she shouted, pulling open doors to compartments, nodding to Prefects she knew and some she didn't and watching them file towards the second carriage. When she opened the door to the Slytherin compartment, she froze. Draco Malfoy sat with his cronies and she could feel their judgemental gaze fall on her. Draco, of course didn't waste the opportunity to insult her but she was in no mood for his Pureblood dramatics and found that he was remarkably easy to ignore.

DRACO POV:

How dare Blaise and Theo laugh at the Bookworm's insult, Draco sulked, tugging at the Prefect badge on his robes. He would be Head Boy next year, he was sure of it but no doubt bloody Granger would be given the role of Head Girl and they would be forced to share a dormitory. Draco shivered at the thought. He finally rose from his seat and left his stupid, shallow classmates to their conversation and went to the compartment where the Prefects were meeting. He slid open the door and looked in. Granger sat alone, looking out the window at the rain splattered landscape. Hogwarts was surronded by gloomy Scottish countryside, the complete opposite of the lush, manicured gardens of the Malfoy Manor.

"Where is everybody else? Did you scare them away Granger?"

She stared at him in a daze and then seemed to snap back to reality. Draco was sure, that for a second, he had seen tears shimmer in her brown eyes.

"You're late Malfoy." she muttered, raising to her feet and brushing her robes over her legs. She always hid behind her uniform, Draco had never seen her body. Why was he thinking about what she looked like beneath her robes? Probably hideous. She was a mudblood after all.

"Oh." Was all he managed to muster. "Did I miss much?"

"Prefects are to promote house unity, the rounds chart will be going up in a week and we have to take care of the first years. The usual stuff."

"You sound bored with the usual stuff. Never thought I'd see that day." he drawled. The thought of the Slytherin crest thrown at his feet, glinting in the light of the fire made him wince.

"I'm not bored Malfoy. Just thinking. I'm sure you've never had to do much of that in your life so I'll forgive your ignorance." she pushed past him and he caught a whiff of her scent;- spicy lemons. He breathed it deep into his nostrils and before he realised she had insulted him and he hadn't said anything in return, she was gone.

After the feast, he headed down to the dungeons and shooed a dumb Slytherin from his favourite armchair by the fire. He still felt restless, the first day was always the longest. No classes, no homework, nothing to do except interact with people who had the brain function of amoebas. Blaise climbed through the portrait hole, a tell tale smirk on his handsome features and Draco felt a twinge of jealousy. Pansy throwing herself around again, he thought, trying to show the world she is over me. Pansy had been conveniant, nothing more but Draco always knew that if his father ever chose to visit the school, he could count on Pansy to play the part of his pureblood squeeze. That would keep his father happy, the Parkinson's were very wealthy.

"Alright Draco." Blaise greeted him, sinking into the armchair across from him. The Slytherins around the fire had scattered, allowing the two boys their space. He nodded to his friend and smirked when Blaise pulled a cigar from within his robes. "It is, after all, a first night tradition. Who has the infamous Draco Malfoy tainted this year?" Blaise lit up, breathing the smoke through his nostrils. His terrifyingly empty eyes looked soulless in the smoke.

"Keep your nose out of my business Blaise." Draco snapped. He knew his best friend would guess, would be smiling to himself even as the words slipped out his mouth. He had slept with no one, not even the girls who had been throwing him glances during the feast. He could have had any one of them in his bed but he had instead wandered the corridors alone until he had returned to the common room.

"I think you need a challenge. Prove you are not losing your touch."

Draco growled at the repetition of the Bookworm's words.

"What did you have in mind Blaise?" He couldn't resist accepting a challenge.

"Break Granger." his words were deadly serious, and Draco felt a shiver of anticipation run down his spine. Blaise held Italian fire, and he spoke with a fire that matched Draco's stone.

"What do you mean? Fuck her? I could do that with my eyes closed."

"No break her, make her fall in love with you and declare it in front of the school. Can you imagine how much that would crush the Golden Trio? Their princess broken by a pureblooded Slytherin."

"Sure you're not a deatheater Zabini? That's rather dark, even for you." Draco muttered.

"Scared Malfoy." Blaise scoffed and Draco felt his anger flare, like a snake ready to strike.

"I'll do it Blaise. I'm the only one that could break her."

"What makes you say that Draco? You're not the only Slytherin that gets under her skin."

"I'm the only one she really hates, you know that Blaise." he felt a prickle of annoyance at the assumption that Granger was an easy girl to rile up. It had taken him years to find her buttons and he knew exactly which ones to press for the reaction he wanted. The rest of the Slytherins were left in the dirt, even if Granger did just see them as a house full of purebloods.

"How long do I have?"

"Two weeks." Zabini replied, passing over the cigar. He reached his hand to grip Draco's outstretched hand and they sealed the deal. Breaking up the Bookworm, Draco was thrilled at the prospect.


	2. Chapter 2

BREAKING UP THE GIRL

Day One

DRACOS POV:

Two weeks to break Hermione Granger wasn't a challenge, it was a walk in the park for somebody with his skills. No girl could resist him.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione sat in her favourite section of the library, practically reserved for her at this point. Nobody sat at her table but she had given up bothering about the other students around her, most of whom only used the library for gossiping or catching up with friends from other houses. She supposed it could at least boast of promoting house unity. Although she never saw Slytherins deigning to sit with anyone from other houses, they had their own table. It was marked with a green charm that not even Professor Flitwick had been able to disable, marking it as their space. Hermione knew the charm was the product of only one wand:- Draco Malfoy. He had a flair for charms despite claiming it to be the most useless subject after Care for Magical Creatures. Perhaps it was making flowers appear in the air that bored the Slytherin Prince but his marks were only one behind Hermione in the class and she had to study, hard, to keep her spot at the top.

Hermione knew that she was naturally smart, she had been blessed with her parents quick mind and intelligence but in a school of pureblood wizards, she often felt out of place. Muggle-born, the first of her family to have powers. It was a lot to get used too. She knew she had a rival in Ron's sister Ginny, who was blossoming into her powers but Hermione couldn't hold Ginny's talents against her. They were practically best friends or at least, she thought they were. She wasn't sure how Ginny had taken her break up with her brother, Hermione supposed she would have to find out at some point.

It was odd how breaking up with a boy could change everything. Boys stared at her in the corridors, as if they had never noticed she was a girl until they had heard she was dating Ron. Now that she wasn't, she knew she received more admiring looks than she ever had before. She didn't feel particularly attractive. She avoided looking at her reflection whenever possible. It was why she hid herself away in the library, other girls may have felt comfortable being eyed like a prime cut of meat but it wasn't for Hermione. She preferred to cover herself up, something Ron had never been able to understand. Clothes had always been a barrier to move past, something to remove before he could reach the good stuff. Hermione hadn't felt the same about his body, his pale skin and red hair that tickled her whenever they kissed. His movements had been clumsy, there was no patience, no romance.

Ah concentrate Hermione, she scolded herself, trying to focus on the Herbology book before her. The names of plants blurred before her eyes and she slammed it shut, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I know a good way to relieve stress Granger." his silky voice made her jump and she cocked an eyebrow at him. Draco Malfoy, in the library, that was a first.

"Do you now? What would that be?" she frowned after the words left her mouth, knowing she had walked right into his trap. From his smirk, he knew she had too.

"Fucking Granger. Surely you're not too pure to know about that. Or is the smartest witch of our age still inexperienced when it comes to men?" Draco drawled, leaning against her table and leering at her. She wished her section of the library wasn't deserted, no witnesses to Draco's strange behaviour. None of her classmates would believe that he had come up to her in the library and proposed sex as a way to relieve stress.

"You're not a man Draco, you're a boy." she sneered, adopting his signature facial expression to anger him further. She saw the muscles in his jaw tense as he thought of a suitable comeback.

"What man would want you?" he finally scoffed.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Hermione stood, and brushed her robes away from her body. She saw Draco's eyes flicker downwards, taking in her uniformed body before she let her cloak obscure the view. Was it always so easy to tease boys? She would have to ask Ginny, she knew better than most girls.

"Tell me." Draco muttered, grabbing her arm and holding her in place. She struggled against him then thought better of it and leaned in so that her whisper would fall directly into his perfectly formed ear.

"Viktor Krum. Oh and the Chosen one. They're more man than you'll ever be Malfoy." she yanked her arm from his grip and left him in the library, probably thinking up a suitable curse to throw at her when he next saw her.

DRACO POV:

Harry Potter and the Bookworm, Draco shuddered at the thought but to his surprise, he was jealous. The Boy who Lived wasn't allowed to have the Gryffindor Princess, it wasn't right, it didn't fit. She was fiery, passionate, and she had more backbone to her than the Chosen one any day. If it had been Hermione against the Dark Lord all those years at Hogwarts, when Harry had been classed a hero, Draco was sure the Dark Lord would be nothing more than a terrifying memory. He banished such traitorous thoughts from his mind and decided that since he was in the library, he may as well do some research for his potions essay. A foot and a half on the lust potion- Amorentia which they were to brew next week in class with the help of a partner. He had already picked out Blaise, although thank god, they didn't have to try the potion on their partner. That would be taking friendship that bit too far.

By the time the dinner bell was struck, Draco's head was buzzing with the side effects of Amorentia if it went wrong. It could leave the receiver feeling drained and intoxicated, they would forget to eat, to take showers. It was a potion for obsession. He wondered why Snape had set such a strange potion, unless he hadn't considered the consequences. Then again the potions master had a sinister sense of humour. He would consider it funny if Gryffindors and Slytherins begin to lust after each other, and it would be a quick method for deducting points. The first to disappear beneath their desk would have 1000 points deducted from their house. He tucked the notes he had taken into his robes and joined the crowd heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. He couldn't help but notice that Pothead was sitting awfully close to the Bookworm and seemed to be comforting her. It was then he saw Lavender Brown, the slut from Gryffindor with hardly enough brain cells to rub together attached to Weasel's face. Draco's appetite disappeared.

How could she be hung up on the ginger blood traitor, Draco wondered. He could understand Viktor Krum, he had at least been a man and possessed of limited vocabulary. He had found other ways to occupy Hermione's mouth. Draco started at the sound of her name in his own thoughts. He had never called her her name, never. And he never would. She deserved no recognition from him. But to break her? He would have to lower some of his barriers, or at least pretend too. She wouldn't fall for the cold Draco Malfoy, he would have to draw her in with sensitive Draco, he laughed to himself. Girls thought boys couldn't plan or scheme, they were wrong in so many ways.

HERMIONE POV:

Draco's hand prints had started to bruise by the time she reached her dormitory, shoving up the sleeve of her jumper to look at the damage. His touch had been electrifying, she couldn't think if he had ever touched her before. She was glad it had been through her uniform, she didn't want his hands on her. But she had felt something strange when he had held her there, holding her against her will. Nobody had the courage to challenge Hermione, they bent beneath her intellect and her fire, they always broke. Ron, despite being a foot taller than her, had never taken the initiative. He had never known when she had wanted to be thrust against a wall and kissed passionately. He had always taken it for granted that she would be content with gentleness. Perhaps it was her fault, she had never been able to put her desires into words but she had wanted him to know, to feel it instinctively. But Draco? Could she really be thinking these thoughts about him? She definitely had to find Ginny, even if she would have to conceal the boys identity. The Slytherin Prince, grabbing Hermione and demanding to know what she wanted in a bed-mate, it was all too strange and would definitely fire her flame haired friend. She knew Ginny harboured the desire for her and Ron to get married so that she could be with Harry and although she knew it wasn't going to happen, she couldn't dismiss the young girls dreams quite so easily.

She knew Draco was playing with her but to what gain? What did he want from her? He would never sink so low as to desire a mudblood and Hermione knew that he had girls falling at his feet, clueless, brainless girls but girls nonetheless. So he definitely didn't want her for sex, which she was grateful as her lack of experience would put her to shame. Not that she would ever sleep with him anyway, she told herself. Maybe he needed help. He was terrible in potions. But she wasn't particularly amazing either. Snape made her nervous and she often screwed up her potions because of him peering over her shoulder.

She changed from her uniform into a t-shirt and threw a cardigan with small strawberrys over it, looking at her reflection quickly before throwing everything into her trunk and sealing it closed with a silent spell. She had grown better at them over the summer. She made her way down the staircase to the common room and was pleased to find Ginny lounged on a sofa.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she plopped into the free space beside Ginny, trying to figure out how to put the question into words.

"What's up Mione? Is my brother being an idiot again?"

"No actually, its somebody else confusing me. What do you do if you think somebody is toying with you but you can't work out their motives?"

"What do you do or what would I do?" Ginny clarified, sticking her tongue out at Hermione who blushed. Two kisses in her lifetime was hardly anything against the younger girls experience, although Ginny was definitely not a whore. Hermione couldn't describe it but Ginny was fiery, she knew exactly what she was doing when she was with a boy. Hermione could never dream of having such confidence.

"What would you do." she finally replied and watched the younger girls eyes light up in anticipation.

"Play back." Ginny replied wickedly.

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Nobody could tell but she was watching the doorway out of the corner of her eye. It was almost perfect that Draco entered at the exact same time as Lavender chose to commandeer Ron's attention. Harry of course acted as Hermione knew he would. He began to rub her back. Hermione's gaze was locked on Draco, although he hadn't noticed he was being observed. She felt a thrill when he stormed to the Slytherin table and sank heavily into his seat between Parkinson and Zabini. Something was definitely going on with the Slytherin Prince and she for one had to know what.


	3. Chapter 3

BREAKING UP THE GIRL

Day one – Night

Draco had never felt so restless. Normally he slept like the dead in the four poster in the room Dumbledore had finally surrendered to him after his father had sent a demanding owl. Draco was too old to share a room, he had duties and his name ought to give him privileges, or so his father had argued, much better than Draco ever could have. Whenever he met the Headmaster he felt as though the old man could see through him, know the secrets Draco managed to keep so carefully concealed from his classmates. But here he was, it was deep into the night and he was pacing his room like a girl waiting for an owl from a boy she desired. What had gotten into him?

Blaise's words had gotten to him; he wasn't the only one capable of breaking the Gryffindor Princess. But Granger hated him, based on the opinion of her best friend, the 'chosen one' and nobody he had ever seen managed to get under her skin quite as much as he did. It was his blood status and his brains that wound her up. Draco was smart, he didn't have to rely on his status to get what he wanted and perhaps, Granger already knew that he would be made Head Boy.

But Blaise had set the challenge wanting Draco to fail and therefore he knew others that held an advantage also. Draco thought of his 'best friend' in most senses of the word; his dark polished skin and those brown eyes that could appear honest even when spouting the most vicious lies. Blaise had an advantage over Granger, in that she would never suspect him of trickery, above and beyond his Slytherin status. She would never willingly surrender information to him but she could be persauded that he was charming, trust worthy with time. Whereas Draco had four years of hate, mistrust and insults working against him. He let out a yell of frustration. Two weeks to make the smartest witch of any age fall in love with him, her nemesis. It was beginning to look impossible.

Grabbing his cloak from the back of his chair, he flung it over his shoulders and left the Slytherin common room. Nobody else seemed to be suffering from insomnia, the common room was empty except for a house elf busy cleaning the mess that the students had left behind them. What was it Granger had said about the house elves? That they deserved to be treated like human beings rather than servants. Draco scoffed at the idea but watched curiously as the house elf went about his business. Seeming to sense he was being observed, he turned and scampered into a shadowy corner, flinching away from Draco's surprised snort of amusement. Granger got her knickers in a twist over the smallest issues. She was worried about House elves when blood traitors still wandered the halls of Hogwarts. How Gryffindor-like.

HERMIONE POV:

Play back, Ginny's words repeated in Hermione's skull as she lay in bed that night. Well she had tried, but having Harry comfort her and Draco losing his appetite was hardly discovering what he wanted with her. It was childs-play really, although she supposed she was up against a child. Malfoy threw a tantrum if he didn't get what he wanted and called on his daddy but this was one issue where Daddy wouldn't interfere. In fact, Malfoy would probably be locked up if his pureblooded parents knew he was toying with a mudblood, Hermione smiled at the thought. At least her blood would always get her out of trouble when it came to purebloods. Blood was a powerful factor in the wizarding community, one that Hermione would never understand. She respected the Weasley family because Molly, from a well known pureblood family had married for love. She had been cut off by her family for her treachery but Hermione had never met somebody as happy as Molly. She was more like a mother to Hermione than her own, who still couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that her daughter was a witch.

"Go to sleep Hermione, this kind of thinking is going to get you nowhere." she scolded herself but sleep seemed like a distant dream. She didn't feel at all tired, despite the fact that classes started tomorrow and she had crammed her timetable as full as she could without Madam Pomfrey frowning over it. The Nurse kept a close eye on Hermione after she had collapsed in fourth year from exhaustion. Nobody knew about her collapse or the events leading up to it.

FLASHBACK:

"You are the only person I can trust to carry out this task Hermione." Dumbledore frowned at her over his cluttered desk, and Hermione found herself nodding. She was exhausted, it was four o'clock in the morning and she had been summoned to Dumbledore's office by a sleepy looking Professor McGonaghall.

"You want me to spy on the Slytherins?" she had confirmed, wincing as Dumbledore nodded. She thought of Harry's suspicions that many in Slytherin house were in fact, death eaters and knew he would be ecstatic by the news that Dumbledore thought so as well. So much so that he was having Hermione spy on them.

"One thing, you can't mention this task to either of your friends. The fewer who know of this the better. Just be careful Hermione. The Slytherins are a very honour proud household and they do not take slights well. If you were discovered, I would need you to lie about your intentions." his glasses winked in the firelight. Hermione nodded stiffly, fingering her wand within her robes. She could always rely on her magic to pull her out of a sticky situation but spying required discretion. She would have to borrow Harry's Invisibility cloak.

"What do you need it for?" Harry looked at her suspiciously and Hermione thought quickly.

"I need it to get into the restricted section. Madam Pince won't let me look at a book and I'm pretty sure it has some information that may be useful." Hermione shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. It had been three days since Dumbledore had set her the task and he had owled her that day to ask her to spy on the Slytherins during their house meeting, which Snape had arranged to be held in a classroom not far from the dungeons. Hermione wondered if Snape was in on the plan but the potions master had ignored her as much as he usually did so she couldn't be certain.

It wasn't until a month had passed that things began to go wrong. Harry had given up his cloak without further questions, Hermione was nothing if not passionate about her schoolwork and it hadn't seemed suspicious that she wanted his cloak to sneak into the restricted section. However she hadn't been in the library since she had started spying. It had started innocently enough, the Slytherins seemed like any other housemates, interested in gossip and hexing each other. She hadn't noticed anything suspicious but then, three weeks after the first meeting, she had noticed Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson sneaking from the dungeons after curfew. Donning the cloak, she had followed them to the astronomy tower, where she had witnessed them practicing dark magic. It wasn't much further advanced than a few torture curses but it had been enough to strike fear into her, and Hermione wasn't easily scared.

A week later, she had followed Blaise alone to the astronomy tower and watched in astonishment as he brandished his dark mark at the sky. It was faded, not yet alive as Voldemort hadn't yet returned but it was seared into his dark skin as though marked with the essence of the night itself. She hadn't been able to stop herself from letting out a gasp.

"Who's there?" Blaise had spun around and began advancing on the very spot where Hermione stood. There was no way for her to escape and the cloak would not prevent him from walking in to her, so she had seized her Gryffindor fearlessness and stripped it off. Blaise's eyes had flashed fury as he had grabbed her and slammed her against the wall.

"Always so nosy Granger, can't you ever keep your nose out of other people's business?" he had hissed.

"I think the students of Hogwarts need to know when there are Death eaters in their midst." she had choked out, surprised by the strength of her voice.

"I don't think you'll get the chance to tell of what you've seen." before she could speak, he had kissed her, hard and without passion. "I've always wanted to taste you Hermione. I'm sorry I have to do this." his voice was silky as he pulled his wand and held it to her temple. She confronted the blackness before it reared its head and dragged her under.

Two weeks later she had woken in the Hospital Ward. Her friends were clustered around her, concern written on each of their faces. Her bed was surronded with cards and flowers.

"Do you remember what happened Hermione?" Harry had asked after Madam Pomfrey had finally agreed to release Hermione from the hospital ward.

"Blaise. Something to do with Blaise." she had muttered, searching her memory. Why could she not remember? She could remember him pressing her against the wall and kissing her. Had it went further? What had she done? What had he done?

She had never worked up the courage to ask what had happened that night in the astronomy tower and no amount of legilmens could reveal the events of the night. After that year, Hermione's sleep had always been disturbed and disjointed, filled with dreams of Blaise and his rough kiss.

END OF FLASHBACK

Hermione stood and left the dormitory, throwing a thin robe over her pyjamas. They had been a present from her muggle aunt and although there was hardly any material to them, Hermione liked the feel of the silk against her skin while she slept. If she slept. The common room was deserted as were the corridors. The portraits frowned at her as she made her way along the dark corridors, not bothering to illuminate the tip of her wand. She knew she wasn't supposed to be out after curfew, even if she was a Prefect. Hogwarts was filled with passageways and corridors which changed daily and not even Hermione could claim to know where all the corridors went. She decided to aim for somewhere which never moved, the Room of Requirement. She could transform it into somewhere sleep might come a little easier to her restless mind. As she wandered down the corridors she heard the sound of footsteps approaching and pressed herself against the wall. She was so close to be caught now. When she reached the Room of Requirement she was surprised to find the doorway flickering. Occupied but somebody who didn't mind being interrupted. Somebody else with insomnia.

Pushing open the door with tentative fingertips she poked her head inside and withdraw only a moment too late. Draco Malfoy had already seen her.

"Well are you coming in or not Granger? Its rude to hang around in the shadows." he drawled and she tried to quickly make up her mind. He was her enemy, and no matter how far away sleep seemed, she didn't want to spend the restless hours of the morning with Malfoy. But where else could she go? She stepped into the room.

"What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you are, trying to find solace from raging thoughts." he replied, staring deep into the fire, looking anywhere but at her. Hermione moved to the armchair across from the sofa and sank into its inviting embrace. She couldn't find a reply to his statement. She was surprised the room wasn't decked out in green, instead it was a bland grey colour. Draco Malfoy didn't seem the type to appreciate colours.

"So why can't you sleep Granger?" he turned to her. There was nothing mocking in his tone, only a blunt question.

"Nightmares." she whispered, waiting for him to laugh at her. Instead he moved towards her, resting his head on the back of the couch and folding his arms over his chest. He didn't appear to be wearing a top, only his cloak thrown over a pair of loose pants, black, of course.

"I didn't think anything would give the Gryffindor Princess nightmares."

"What did you call me, the Gryffindor Princess?" she spluttered.

"Untouched, almost too perfect. You must know my nickname, it shouldn't surprise you that you have one as well. We are more alike than you know." he replied, contemplating her. Hermione tugged her robe tighter around her but that seemed to draw his attention more.

"I'm nothing like you Malfoy. And no, I don't know your nickname. I don't pay attention to stupid things like nicknames."

"Its the Slytherin Sex god. Do you know why?"

"I presume you have some talent beneath the sheets." she shrugged, feeling a flush creep up her cheeks. He smiled at her crookedly and she startled, it wasn't a smirk, Malfoy's signature move. It was like seeing Harry without his scar.

"I can have any girl I wish."

"How do you fit through doors with a head that size? You surely don't believe that you can have anybody who takes your fancy." Hermione huffed.

"I can, even you, if I wanted you."

"Don't be so full of yourself Malfoy. You couldn't have me if you tried." she settled back into the comforting armchair, feeling surprisingly relaxed, even in the company of her nemesis. Somehow the conversation had moved around to sex, she had no idea how.

"Ah yes, I forgot you've never had a man."

"I thought we'd already discussed this Draco, you are about as far from a man as it is possible to be." she retorted.

"You called me by my name." he stared at her in shock.

"What?" Hermione stuttered, realising her mistake. She had never called him Draco before in his life, never to his face.

"I like it." he muttered. His grey eyes pierced into hers and she knew she had gone an unattractive shade of red. She pushed herself quickly to her feet and was halfway to the door before she felt his arm close around hers. She began to struggle, fear coursing through her at being held prisoner.

"Let go of me Blaise. Let go!" she screamed, feeling the strange blackness roll towards her. Draco let go of her quickly and watched as she collapsed to the floor, a few silver tears leaking from the corner of her eyes.

"What did you say?" he whispered, bending down to her. His plan had been working until that point. She had said Blaise's name, he was sure of it but in a way that struck anger into Draco Malfoy. She had sounded terrified, Hermione Granger had been scared.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." she muttered, trying to pick herself up. To his surprise, she let him help her to her feet. He could see the pale green silk of her pyjama top through her robe and he had to force his eyes to stay on her face. He couldn't be caught admiring her at a moment like this. He had knew something was up with Blaise when he had set the challenge. Blaise had wanted Draco to know that he had been there before him and that angered Draco, who had never been one to give up on a challenge. Blaise was taunting him, telling him that he would fail and then he would have to forfeit. Draco hated forfeiting. But could he dismiss the terror in her voice, or the way she was staring at him? Somewhere between mistrust and desperation. She wanted somebody to confide in.

This is Granger before you, who has hated you since you set foot in this castle. She is muggle born, you give her nothing, he scolded himself.

"What did you say?" he frowned, finding that he couldn't drop it. Perhaps if he knew what had happened, she would be more inclined to trust him. It would be easier to break her if he could at least gain her trust.

"Drop it Malfoy. Its nothing to do with you." Hermione shut herself down and tried to gather herself together. She had fallen apart in front of her enemy, Draco Malfoy and the strange thing was he seemed to care. There was definitely something going on.

"But its my business. You said the name of my housemate and then collapsed." he pointed out.

"I don't remember what happened, okay. I don't know what happened that night." she was sobbing now. Without thought, he pulled her against his chest and let her cry into his robes. When her composure returned, she seemed to remember that she was in a room with Draco Malfoy and before he could utter another word, she had turned and fled. He pressed his hand to the wet patch on his robes. They felt warm from where she had been pressed against him and once again her scent overtook his senses.

Draco pulled himself together, he had a certain Blaise Zabini to find and curse the truth from.


	4. Chapter 4

BREAKING UP THE GIRL

DRACO POV:

"What did you do to her? You set me up! Challenge me to break somebody that you've already broken. What's the forfeit Blaise? What did you want to see me do?" Draco ranted at his best friend, pacing before the fire in the deserted common room. Blaise didn't even have the decency to look tired, or ashamed, he simply watched Draco with his piercing eyes, waiting for him to finish. Draco had stormed from the Room of Requirement to the dormitory and woken Blaise roughly after he had realised that Hermione wasn't coming back. Granger, fuck, her name was Granger. He couldn't let that slip in front of Blaise; the news would spread that Malfoy was going soft. He felt the vein in his neck, the one that twitched when he was agitated, spark into life, demanding his attention.

"I didn't do anything to her. She's still a virgin, she's still the Bookworm, she just got on the wrong side of me, that's all." Blaise finally replied, watching his friend curiously. He had never seen Draco so wound up. "What did you do to her to make her remember?" he probed and Draco spun to glare at him.

"I'm supposed to make Granger fall in love with me but I can't get near her because my friend," he spat the word friend, "scared the living shit out of her. What forfeit did you have in mind for when I fail?"

"If you lose, you have to take Ron Weasley's girlfriend Lavender to the Christmas Ball." Blaise's eyes glittered and Draco found himself smirking. It wasn't a bad forfeit. Of course it meant his reputation would be ruined, being seen with the cast off of the Weasel. What he knew of Lavender didn't inspire further confidence; she held a strange fascination for divination, the most useless of all wizarding subjects taught at Hogwarts and she was a gossip. Two things Draco Malfoy hated.

"Good. I like it. Gives me incentive." he replied.. He knew that sleep was far away but he let his thoughts drift. The vein in his neck continued to twitch and before he began to scratch incessantly, he excused himself and ducked beneath the portrait that led into his private room. He fell onto his bed and stared at the murky green drapes that sealed in his four poster bed.

The room was decorated in Slytherin colours, silver and green, colours that Draco had come to associate with himself. How could Hogwarts go on about house unity when they ascribed each house a colour, essentially giving them something on which to base their principles? And the Heads of the Houses, as if they had wanted house unity. They were in it for their own gain, Draco had no doubt. He was only following in the footsteps of those meant to inspire him. He was in it for himself, breaking Granger had many benefits for him.

He pictured Weasel and Pothead's face when Granger stood before the entire school and announced that she had fallen for Draco Malfoy. But somehow the picture wouldn't stay straight in his mind. In it she was crying, and pushing against him, desperate to get away. And he was chasing after her. He screwed his eyes shut. The robes, he still had his robes on; the ones her tears had soaked. She had been pressed against his chest, so close and the thought that her blood was dirty hadn't once crossed Draco's mind. He was losing it. He stood and quickly flung the robes into the corner of his bedroom and swore that the very first Hogsmeade weekend, he would go to Madam Malkin's and replace them.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione ran until the tears streaming down her face had turned into trails of ice and every limb felt rigid. She fell to her knees in the Astronomy tower and wondered why her feet had brought her here. The wind whipped her dressing gown around her and the stars glimmered like a thousand tiny eyes spying on her moment of despair. Fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks and she let herself sob openly. In the morning, she would pull up every ounce of her courage and visit Madam Pomfrey, ask for the draught of Dreamless sleep and pretend the nightmares didn't affect her. Or, the alternative, and how her friends would have laughed, therapy. Hermione Granger who never spent much time around those of the breathing persuasion needed therapy for the few times she did. She wondered what would come up if she ever sat in a therapist's office:- Ron and Lavender, Harry, Draco and Blaise. All the things she would never say to their face but she would probably end up spilling to a complete stranger. She swiped the tears from her cheeks and scolded herself for being so stupid. She laid her head on her knees and thought of what she would do tomorrow. Potions with Snape and Malfoy, who would no doubt have spread the story of Hermione Granger crying on his chest around the whole of his house. She had never cried in front of anybody and the first person was Malfoy. He probably thought she was crazy, dirty blooded, beneath him. But he had held her, no space between them. She had fit almost perfectly in the grooves of his perfect body, in a way she never had with any other man she had been with. Any other boy she had been with, she corrected herself and banished the thought of Draco's body. She didn't want to be just another brainless girl, fantasizing over Draco's naked form, panting after him like a dog. She picked herself up from the cold floor of the Astronomy tower and breathed the night air deeply into her lungs. It seemed to settle something in her for she no longer felt like crying.

She made her way down the steep, spiral staircase of the Astronomy tower, unaware that a pair of curious, hooded eyes watched her from the shadows.

By the time she made it to her dormitory, the sun was just beginning to rise and despite her intentions, she dreamt of Draco Malfoy.

DRACO POV:

Potions with Snape was torture, even more so after a restless night spent tossing and turning and trying to thrust the pictures of Granger from his mind. They grew steadily more dirty the more frustrated he got until he knew he wouldn't sleep and had started researching his charms essay instead. It was almost embarrassing for him to have spent the night awake and not even bothered to find company. He was sure that if he went knocking at the girls dormitory door, somebody would have been more than happy to fulfill his every desire. He needed to get laid and badly, before the thoughts of Granger drove him to do something he really didn't want to do. He couldn't find her sexually attractive, it wasn't possible. She hid beneath the baggy uniform like it was a suit of armour. Draco was sure she didn't even talk about sex, sure she didn't even think about sex.

He crashed into his seat beside Blaise, who was gazing straight ahead triumphantly. When Pansy came in and draped herself around him, he began to kiss her, pushing her against the desk until Snape appeared behind them and separated them with a silky cough. Draco almost wished Snape would deduct 1000 points from Slytherin to teach him a lesson but Snape simply moved to the front of the class and began to relay his instructions. Draco pulled out his pristine copy of Advanced Potions and flipped to the Amortenia potion. Sleeplessness, obsession, the lack of will to do anything. The symptoms sounded familiar. A crash came from the back of the classroom and startled, Draco whipped around to look at the late-comer. Hermione entered, her robes eschew and her hair in disarray. Before she could make an apology to Snape, he had deducted 500 points from Gryffindor and barked at her to take a seat. She moved to sit beside Harry, who had saved a seat for her (Draco ignored the prick of jealousy that came from the region of his heart.)

"No Miss Granger, that seat won't do. This potion requires team work and I believe we will only see the results you are likely to give under pressure when you are partnered with someone from a different house. Let me see." he began pointing and soon half the Gryffindors were partnered with disgrunted Slytherins. Blaise moved to sit beside the Chosen one, Draco smirked until he realised that the only free seat was beside him and the only person not partnered was Granger. He thought about raising his hand and demanding Snape to partner him with another Gryffindor, anyone but her but he had already turned his back and was busy grading a sheaf of essays.

Hermione dumped her stuff unceremoniously on the table beside Draco and without looking at him began to unpack her equipment.

"Aren't you going to say good morning Granger?" Draco managed to find his tongue and make the statement sound like an insult without his head pounding too much. He was almost proud of his resilience. He didn't need sleep to be himself, he could pretend.

"Good morning Malfoy." she replied, still without looking at him. He could think of nothing more to say so he began to prepare his own ingredients, sneaking glances at her from beneath his lashes when he was sure she wouldn't notice. She was working on her own potion with something bordering on obsession and not once did her gaze flicker to him. She didn't look at him once throughout the entire lessons, not even when Snape bid them to grade each others potions. Hers was a sludgy pink while his resembled roadkill.

"Would it still work sir?" Hermione asked, blushing when the Professor turned his mocking gaze on her.

"Are you thinking about using it on somebody in particular Miss Granger because I would advise only one or two drops. Any more and you may not be able to get rid of them." the Professor swept from the room, leaving Hermione blushing a fiery crimson. Draco waited until the class filed out, comparing notes on their potions and partners before dipping a vial into his cauldron and stoppering the contents. When he turned, vial safely concealed within his cloak, Hermione was throwing her books into her bag, her unruly hair wild around her face.

Draco found himself moving closer to her. She still would not look at him but she tensed, sensing his approach and he felt a chill run up his spine. She was so goddamn highstrung all the time, it was as though she never relaxed, never had any fun.

"Look at me Granger." he said. She picked up her eyes and stared at him. There was no fear, only anxiety.

"Come to mock me Malfoy? I wondered when you were going too."

"I don't know what you're talking about."he replied nonchalantly, the lie slipping from him easily. He needed her to trust him and what better way than putting aside what he had been. She was staring at him suspiciously now.

"Good work today in class." he finished and leaving her dumbfounded, he walked from the classroom. Finally he could go to his dormitory and get to sleep, knowing he hadn't lost his touch. The game had just began. He patted the vial in his pocket and felt curiously, like skipping.


	5. Chapter 5

DRACO POV:

Draco sank into his seat at the Slytherin table and began to pile food onto his plate, trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach that told him to eat everything in sight. He had returned to his dormitory after Potions and hid the vial of Amorentia under a loose floorboard, still unsure as to why he had taken the potion. It wasn't as if he needed a potion to make a girl fall for him, they seemed to do that well enough on their own. His ice cold confidence made them putty in his hands but doing nothing to bed a girl had grown boring. Sometimes he wanted somebody to tell him no, to challenge him but nobody ever did. It must have been his pure-blood, they assumed he wanted somebody completely subservient. But there had been a thought when he had dipped the vial into the cauldron of steaming liquid, Granger naked before him, begging him to touch her. He had banished the thought; it wasn't his style – poisoning somebody to make them want him. He wanted her to come to him of her own accord and somehow, he had to make her forget that they were enemies and begin to trust him.

Oh it would be sweet if she did trust him only for him to break her. The smartest witch of the age thinking she could ensnare a pure blood wizard with her book-worm, know it all ways.

Draco's next move had been easy. He had walked to the Owlery and tying a piece of parchment around Genghis' leg, he had thrown the owl through the open space and watched as it careened around the castle to the Gryffindor dormitory's. He knew, deep down, that she would come, even if she fought with herself each step of the way. She was Granger and curiousity always got the better of her.

Hermione read the piece of parchment twice, flicking it over and over, looking for signs of magical tampering. But no wand had touched the parchment to produce the script she would recognize anywhere. Malfoy's hand writing, it was so strangely beautiful. The eye followed each of the words hypnotically, it was nothing like Hermione's crazed note taking. Malfoy thought about his words, put feeling behind each of them before committing to them to paper. It was a shame he was so rigid and cold in real life. If he only let himself be like the person she saw on the piece of parchment, he would have been the most fascinating boy in the whole of Hogwarts. Hermione thought about it and with a sigh admitted to herself that Malfoy was the most fascinating boy in Hogwarts.

He was a Slytherin, dark and brooding with the perfect body, riches beyond anything Hermione could dream and links with the most powerful dark wizard in history. It was a shame everything about him was angled towards darkness. She folded the parchment and stared at the ebony owl that had delivered it. It's feathers shone and it held itself haughtily, as if it knew the person on the receiving end of his masters letter wasn't worthy. She shooed the bird away, she couldn't have written a reply if she had a thousand years to dedicate solely to the task.

What did Malfoy want anyway? And more importantly, why was he being nice to her? It was beginning to get under her skin. She was the smartest witch of her age and yet, here she was, puzzled by the actions of somebody like Malfoy, who was normally so transparent that she could have set her watch by him. Insult her, sneer at his classmates and lord it over everybody. That was all the young wizard ever seemed to do. Oh and make her life and her friend's life hell. He was like a dark cloud in a blue sky, noticeable and volatile. She could see him floating on her horizon but she couldn't see into him. She couldn't see whether a storm lurked in those folds of icy aloofness.

And that was why she already knew she would go to the Room of Requirement tonight. She would find out what he wanted with her, no matter what the cost. It wasn't after all, like she was going to get any sleep anyway.

Midnight rolled around too quickly for Hermione's liking. She still had a pile of homework to finish and she could feel a headache building at the back of her eyes.

"You're pushing yourself too hard." she muttered, sorting her books into a pile and returning her parchment and quill to the bookbag by her seat. She was the only one awake in the Gryffindor common room, although a couple she didn't know had fallen asleep on the sofa before the fireplace, curled around each other. They looked so peaceful, content that Hermione felt a pang in her chest. She had never fallen asleep beside Ron, he had never shown any interest in sleeping in bed. His hands had always pawed at her, seeking entrance and growing more frustrated as she denied him each time. He didn't understand but Hermione could pretend she was happy for him if Lavender was giving him what he wanted. And from the gossip in her dormitory, she knew that Ron was content.

She pushed her chair back quietly and crept up to her dormitory. She put her bookbag beside her bed and pulling the curtains around her four poster, she began to strip out of her uniform. The Room of Requirement, it wasn't often that it was used by two enemies to share the hours of the morning while the rest of their classmates slept. Hermione knew the rooms reputation, how most of the girls fast asleep around there, had slept in it with somebody else for company. She guessed, maybe it wasn't so unusual for two polar opposites to be using the room. After all, she had heard the rumour that Pansy Parkinson had fucked Roger Duport, a Ravenclaw who was known for winding the perfect Slytherin up. But she wasn't going to the Room of Requirement to have sex, she was going to find out what Draco Malfoy wanted from her.

She stared at the outfit she had picked out after the parchment had arrived. If anybody saw her in the corridors they would say she looked as if she was going to meet somebody for some illicit fun but she knew her one advantage lay in her body. Malfoy was a boy and they liked looking at flesh. Hermione threw on the outfit and confronted her reflection.

She hated looking at herself but even she could see that the outfit suited her. A pair of lavender shorts and a low cut black top. It wasn't over the top, but it definitely wasn't her. She liked hiding behind her robes, or baggy clothes. Then she didn't have to think about her inexperience or her lack of interest in the opposite sex. She was beginning to think she would never find somebody who made her thoughts swirl, or her body dance when it was touched by him and him, alone. She brushed her sleek brown curls and put a touch of lipstick on her lips, blotting it with a finger like she had seen her mother do. It stained her lips red and made her look as if she had been drinking blood but there was something alluring about the look. She looked sexy, dangerous. Malfoy wasn't going to know what hit him.

Draco paced the Room of Requirement angrily. She was late, or worse, she wasn't going to come. He had been wrong about her, she wasn't looking for the good in him; she didn't care. Nothing had changed and he was going to have to take Lavender Brown to the Christmas Ball. He winced and sank into the leather armchair the room had conjured. It resembled the living room of the Malfoy manor, only cosier. He had done his best to keep thoughts of sex from his mind and thankfully, when he had opened the door there had been no bed, nothing sexual about the room. He had to put her at her ease and if there was anything more likely to scare Granger off, it was the sight of a bed. Or maybe it was the thought of him in general that repulsed her. She did have strange taste in men and maybe the reason he had never provoked anything more from her than a curse was that she didn't find him attractive. Draco played the thought around his mind. He was so used to girls being attracted to him that he hadn't even thought perhaps his charms didn't work on everybody.

The door opened, interrupting his reverie. He turned to face Granger and did a double-take. She was wearing make up and he could see the curves of her body, she was no longer hidden behind her baggy school robes. He felt himself gulp as he realized that his groin was twitching with approval.

"Hi." she whispered, moving into the room.

"What happened to you?" he choked out. He was sure he was the only person to see Granger looking like this. Her long legs were perfect and her breasts looked tantalizing in her low cut top. But it wasn't just her flesh that was perfect, in the glow from the candlelight she no longer resembled Granger, the bookworm. She looked like a….woman, Draco grudgingly admitted to himself. He felt his groin twitch again and forced himself to stop staring at her.

"Don't you like it? I thought it would be your kind of thing." she replied brazenly.

"I'd like it better if it was green." he replied, trying to cover his surprise. She was flirting with him. Granger was flirting with him.

"Like this?" before he could recover, Hermione had her wand out and had transfigured her clothes to the exact colour of the Slytherin house. It suited her and Draco felt a growl of approval escape his throat before he could prevent it. He noticed the smirk that crept over her beautiful features and he moved towards her, desperate to wipe it off. This was his game, she wasn't allowed to take the upper hand. But instead of backing away from him, she stepped towards him until there was less than a foot between their bodies. She reached out a hand and timidly laced a hand in his hair. Her eyes were a whirlwind and he could tell that she was covering her nerves by constant movement. If he could stop her, she would crumble and the Bookworm would be back instead of this alluring, strange girl before him. Her face was moving closer and before Draco could move, she was kissing him. She tasted of strawberries and before he could stop himself, he was kissing her back, desperately, wanting to consume all of her. He wanted to possess her. And then it all came rushing back, the bet with Blaise, the many years Granger had wound him up by always being smarter, lording it over him with her filthy blood. He pushed her roughly away and saw with amazement, a trace of hurt flash in her brown eyes. She covered it quickly, crossing her arms over her chest and smirking at him.

"You kissed a mudblood Malfoy. Do you feel dirty? Do you want to hurt me because I made you like it?" she taunted him. He clenched his fists by his side.

"Granger you are stupider than I thought if you think I enjoyed what you just did to me." he replied, trying to cover the quivering of his voice. What was happening to him?

"What are you doing Draco? Why did you invite me here if you don't want to try to take advantage? What do you want because I know this bull shit nice act you have going on is just that. An act. You've never been nice to me Draco. Not in the five years we've known each other. Did you think I was some brainless slut who would fall into your arms at the first bit of attention you paid me?" she ranted, the words battering against Draco's flustered brain. He couldn't keep up with everything she was demanding and that damn green shirt kept drawing his eye.

"Well Malfoy what do you want?" she was closer to him now, so close he could smell her shampoo.

"Nothing. I don't want anything Granger." he replied silkily, surprised to find that his voice sounded almost confident. She was an idiot if she expected him to crack that easily.

"I hate you Draco Malfoy. Don't ever think that's going to change." she spoke quietly, perhaps realizing that she wasn't going to get through to him. For some reason he found himself unable to reply, he simply watched her leave, her green shirt fading into black.


	6. Chapter 6

HERMIONE:

Hermione stood before the mirror in her dormitory, breathing heavily and staring at her confused reflection, unable to recognize herself. Her lips were stained and swollen from where she had kissed Malfoy and she was sure tomorrow they would be bruised. Malfoy may have denied it but she was sure, for the briefest of seconds, he had been kissing her back, wanting to consume her just as much as she had wanted to consume him. It had been a terrifying feeling and in a way she had almost been glad when he had pushed her backwards and returned to his normal, arrogant self. Hermione drew a deep breath into her lungs and tried to settle the raging in her heart. Draco Malfoy had kissed her.

And what was most terrifying of all, she had enjoyed it.

She collapsed into her four poster and began, quietly to laugh to herself. She felt a little crazy, hell, she was a little crazy. She had never, ever worn a low cut top or let somebody kiss her like Malfoy had, she couldn't imagine somebody kissing her like Malfoy had. He had confused her senses, made her believe that anything was possible, all in his kiss. Was that what it felt to kiss a pureblood or had something changed? Hermione couldn't work it out but she had to keep pushing him until he broke and confessed what he was trying to do, why he was messing with her. It could only be for his own gain, Malfoy never did anything for anybody else and Hermione would be deluding herself if she thought it was because he cared for her. Malfoy didn't care about anybody.

By the time dawn broke over the horizon and spilled into the dormitory, Hermione's head was pounding and she had driven herself almost half mad trying to work out Draco's motivations. When Ginny burst into the dorm and landed on her bed, she could have hugged her for her welcome intrusion.

"Hermione, what the hell are you wearing to bed?" she stared at Hermione's outfit and wolf whistled and Hermione felt herself blush a fiery crimson.

"Give me a second to change and I'll come down to breakfast with you." she told her friend.

"Wear that Hermione. You look amazing and the sun's out. I was thinking, after breakfast, we could go down to the lake before Hogsmeade."

"It's Saturday already? Where has the week gone?." Hermione fretted, ignoring the worried glance Ginny threw at her.

"Hermione, are you okay?" she laid a comforting hand on Hermione's arm. Of all the Weasleys, Ginny possessed the most tact and intelligence. Perhaps it was from being the only girl but she couldn't imagine Ron ever noticing that something was wrong with her. Or caring. He was too wrapped up in Lavender.

"I'm behind on almost everything Gin. I really don't know if I should go to Hogsmeade." she confessed.

"You've done your homework for the next three weeks, I saw you doing it last night and beating yourself up about it as well. You've got to learn to relax Hermione. Hogsmeade will be fun. I'll even buy you some firewhiskey, I know somebody who can get us a bottle." Ginny winked and Hermione felt herself smile. The girl began to tug at her arm insistently and despite her protests she let Ginny drag her from the room. Before she made it to the Great Hall, she stopped and fretted at her clothes:

"I can't wear these." she shrank back as Ginny drew her wand and pointed it at Hermione's outfit, turning it into a pair of cut offs and a strappy top.

"Better?" her friend teased and Hermione nodded slowly. She really wished it was a school day so she could hide beneath her robes. The Great Hall was half-empty, everybody taking advantage of the good weather or the weekend to have a long lie. Ginny bounded over to the Gryffindor table and grabbed them two seats beside Harry, who was sipping a cup of coffee, lost in thought. He was always lost in thought lately, probably feeling abandoned by Ron. He somehow didn't seem to notice that Ron's sister was in love with him.

"Morning Harry. Are you coming to Hogsmeade?" Ginny gushed, trying to hide her disappointment when Harry shook her head.

"No, I've got some work to do." Harry answered non-commitally, finishing his coffee and leaving the table, tripping in his haste to leave the Great Hall and the two girls behind.

"What's up with him?" Ginny wondered, grabbing a bagel and spreading cream cheese on it.

"We haven't really spoken since Ron and I broke up. Maybe he feels awkward about it." Hermione shrugged but her best friends actions had her worried as well. It wasn't like Harry to pass up on a trip to Hogsmeade.

"I don't think so. We were kinda talking about it last night. We both agreed that it wasn't really ever going to work with you and Ron. I mean you could do so much better." Ginny smiled at Hermione and even with a pounding headache, no sleep and Draco Malfoy confusing the hell out of her, she felt content with her life.

Draco still couldn't quite get his head around what had happened that night in the Room of Requirement. She had kissed him, Hermione Granger who had never displayed any sort of sexual inclinations had grabbed Draco Malfoy and kissed him with such passion that it had almost burned him. He wondered if it was because she was a mudblood and therefore forbidden that the kiss had seemed so powerful and awoken a burning desire in his gut. Then everything he was expected to be had come crashing in on their little space and ruined everything. Now she knew something was up and the bet was as good as lost.

And then to make matters even weirder, Snape had taken to following him around, like a cursed shadow. All in all, Draco Malfoy was glad to be able to escape to Hogsmeade for the day, even if he did have to tag along with Pansy and Blaise, simpering at one another every opportunity they got. It was sickening.

"Where are you going Draco?" Pansy called after him as he stormed ahead of them, pushing through his school mates until he made the front of the line and was able to see the tiny village of Hogsmeade spread out below him. He patted his pocket to check that the hip flask he had carefully concealed was still attached within his military style jacket and disapparated, sighing with relief when he landed at the Shrieking shack. There was nobody around, even though the view of the countryside was astounding and the house barely made any noise during the day. Draco almost wished he never had to move from his spot beneath the old oak, as he knew he would never find this kind of peace in the bustling castle, with students wandering around, expecting things from him and needing him to be a certain way. Beneath that oak, he was nobody, least of all Draco Malfoy.

Hermione was drunk, she could feel it in the ends of her fingertips and it made her giggle, the strange buzzing sensation she felt in her head that was incredibly new to her. Ginny's face was flushed from the firewhiskey and she was leaning against Sandy Thomson, a Ravenclaw's broad chest quite contentedly, flashing sly looks at Hermione from under her lashes. They had found a quiet corner in the Hogs Head and topped their butterbeer with firewhiskey. It had proved a dangerous concoction but Hermione felt oddly alive and exhilarated. Even the boy sitting next to her; she had forgotten his name, purposefully ignoring her couldn't spoil her mood until, that was, Ron and Lavender appeared. Draped around each other, their faces permanently attached, they hardly noticed the scowl Ginny threw at their back or Hermione trying to pretend it didn't affect her.

"Gin, I'm going to go clear my head." Hermione muttered when she heard Lavender's high pitched squeal from the shadowy corner of the pub. Ginny flashed her a sympathetic look but didn't try to stop her and Hermione knew that later Ron would probably have a serious case of slug bogeys. The sun was just beginning to set when she left the pub, they had spent the whole day wandering around the shops and although Hermione hadn't bought anything, Ginny had spent almost every galleon she had earned from her summer job on a gown for the Christmas Ball. She was planning ahead as usual but Hermione had to admit that the dress she had picked out had brought out the fiery red in her hair and the milky-cream of her skin tone. Hermione hadn't even bothered looking at the dresses, she knew she'd probably end up missing the Christmas Ball. Dancing wasn't really her thing.

Hogsmeade was still streaming with pupils enjoying a day off from schoolwork as Hermione made her way through the street, trying carefully to make it seem as if she were sober. She managed to dodge invitations from several of her classmates to join them and instead wound her way out of the village towards the Shrieking Shack. Ever since she had found out it had been Padfoot's den, she had felt a strange affinity with the place, two misfits looking for somewhere to hide out from a world that didn't accept them. But there was already somebody else there and Hermione felt her heart flutter as she realised who it was. Who else was it going to be? Draco Malfoy. She approached him warily and when he turned to look at her, sensing her intrusion, she froze.

"Come for a repeat of last night Granger?" he mocked, returning his gaze to the ancient beaten shack. She felt a blush colour her cheeks and she sank onto a rock a reasonable distance from him, giggling when she lost her balance and almost fell.

"Are you drunk?" Draco was staring at her oddly and Hermione shook her head, letting her brown hair obscure her face so he wouldn't see the lie. Before she could move, he was before her, moving her hair from her face and looking into her eyes. His eyes were a violent storm and they made Hermione flinch; grey and cold that she was sure she would freeze if she chose to drown in them.

"You stink of firewhiskey."

"Going to tell on me Draco? Get some points deducted from Gryffindor?" she shoved his hand away and breathed deeply. He was doing strange things being this close to her and he smelled of cherries and musk.

"Stop calling me Draco." he muttered.

"Why? It's your name isn't it?" she fired back, feeling herself flush. If Harry or Ron had heard her calling him Draco, they would have known instantly that something was the matter.

"Not to you."

"Oh, because my blood isn't good enough for you? Am I so far beneath you that I can't even use your name? Fuck you Draco." she flew to her feet and felt the world twirl into a sickening spiral. She grabbed onto him for support and was surprised when he held her steady instead of pushing her away.

"Do I get under your skin Granger?" he whispered quietly and she found herself nodding. She knew it was the alcohol, if she'd been sober, she would have shaken her head, lied. She'd have told him that no, he didn't get under her skin. But he did, like a virus. It was why she had punched him in third year, why she had spent fourth year wishing he would work up the nerve to ask her to the Yule Ball. At least she had had the pleasure of seeing his face when she had arrived with Viktor Krum.

"Don't let me." Before she knew what was happening, he had apparated them. They were outside the Room of Requirement and Hermione felt a knot of panic form in her chest. She struggled against his arm and he looked at her strangely. #

"I don't want that from you Granger. I think you should sleep off the alcohol. That's all. I'll leave now if you want." he offered, flinching when she grabbed him and tugged him towards the door. The room was decorated like a homely inn, a roaring fire and a comfortable four poster bed set against one wall. A window showed the view across the lake, students running around the grass as the sun began to fade. Hermione made her way over to the bed, still pulling Draco with her. She wasn't sure what she was doing, only that the alcohol had given her a strange kind of confidence and she wanted somebody to look at her in the way boys stared at Ginny. She turned to him awkwardly and pushed him onto the bed, giggling at the look of shock on his face.

"Granger, what are you doing?" his voice was strangled. She stood, unsure what to do now that she had him. A sane voice in her head was screaming at her to run from the room and make her way to her dormitory, that what she was doing was wrong on so many levels. But he was looking at her, he wasn't stopping her, he wasn't mocking her, he was just staring. It made Hermione's heart speed up in her chest.

"I want to kiss you." she whispered and watched the emotions play across his handsome face. Finally, after moments of tense silence, he reached his hand for her and pulled her onto the bed, crashing his lips to hers before she had a moment to think. She knew it would be over before she could really enjoy it and as she had feared, he sprang from the bed, breathing heavily and stared at her.

"What are you doing to me Granger?" his voice was confused and before she could stop him, he had made his way from the room into the corridor. She fell back onto the bed and touched her lips. She couldn't help but feel a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Draco Malfoy had been kissing her, as if he would never stop.


	7. Chapter 7

"OH YES DRACO!" her moans filled his dormitory, bouncing off the walls and filling his ears. He wanted to tell her to shut up but he kept going, knowing that he would find no satisfaction in the Slytherin writhing beneath him. He couldn't even remember her name. If Hermione could get drunk and fuck with his head, he would get drunk and forget her, lose himself in somebody else. But his name sounded odd on the tongue of the girl below him. Granger said his name with venom, reminding Draco that toying with her was wrong. Forbidden. His thoughts began to drift, even as the girl below him started to climax, raking her nails down his back.

He could hear his father telling him the importance of pure blood, of Draco's compliance in everything he did. He could see his mother frowning over him as he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to move for the crushing melancholy weighing down his chest. She had no words of comfort, never having felt any form of emotion since she had married Lucius.

Draco had failed, that much he knew. His pureblood couldn't win him the love of a girl of his own class. He wanted to punish Hermione irrationally for he felt it was her fault he had been dumped. And that is where his anger stemmed from, Draco Malfoy had been dumped, something there had been no risk of before. His wealth, looks and blood had only hardened her resolve to run away with a filthy mud blood. And what had she ran away for? Love. Of all things; a concept taken from a fairytale, the books Granger lost herself in whenever she thought nobody was watching.

The girl let out a shuddering gasp and Draco extracted himself from her grasping limbs before she had time to think it was anything more than it was; sex. Draco Malfoy did not cuddle. He sat on the edge of his bed, staring out the window at the midnight sky until he heard the girl leave and he fell backwards onto the bed, irritable and dissatisfied. He couldn't help but picture the storm in Hermione's brown eyes as she had fought her desire; she knew it was wrong as well. She had just as many reasons to steer clear of him but yet she seemed like a magnet for him. He gravitated towards her, wanting to hurt her, wanting to be the only one that saw her pain. He wondered if she would heed his warning but he knew that she couldn't if he wanted to succeed in Blaise's challenge. And he did want to succeed. He couldn't be a loser at this. If he lost, he may as well give up his title as a Malfoy.

"Fuck." he muttered to himself. His body was a confused mess of emotions and when he looked down he was still hard. He let out a groan and tried to think of things to make his erection go away; McGonaghall normally did the trick. But tonight his thoughts kept jerking back to Hermione, as though she was inside his head, teasing him and he was unable to dislodge her. He remembered the way her chest had heaved as his hands had searched her skin, the desperate way she kissed him, as though she were drowning. He imagined her touching herself, and himself watching her from the shadows. The way she would toss her hair and attempt to hide beneath the curls, how he would push it from her forehead so he could watch her come apart. With a frustrated yell, he began to manipulate his steel length until he spilled his sticky fluid on his abdomen. The guilt hit him instantly and he cleaned himself off with his wand and crawled into his bed, flicking the light off with his wand and letting the darkness envelop him. At least in the dark he couldn't see her face.

Or feel her lips on his own.

Hermione woke the next day in a strange room with a pounding headache and vague fragments of memory that she couldn't make sense of. Hogsmeade, fire whiskey and Ginny and Draco. She was sure, beyond sure that Draco Malfoy had something to do with it. She checked beneath the covers, she was fully dressed, she sighed with relief but something kept niggling at the back of her mind. Something she had done that she shouldn't have. The fire had burnt to embers in the grate and dawn was breaking beyond the window. She was awake early, even for her. With a sigh she threw off the covers and stretched. Her stomach rolled strangely and she cursed Ginny for introducing her to firewhiskey. She had been by the Shrieking Shack, she could remember that. She had been taunting Draco Malfoy or he had been doing it to her, either way she could remember his blonde hair glinting in the sunlight. He had looked almost angelic in her drunken state.

"Pull yourself together Hermione. Draco Malfoy is playing with you and you've got to find out why." she scolded herself. She let herself from the Room of Requirement, checking there was nobody in the corridor as she left. She rounded the corner onto the corridor to the Gryffindor dormitory and collided with Professor Snape.

"I'm sorry Professor. I didn't see you." she stammered, feeling her stomach erupt into butterflies beneath his scrutinizing gaze. She wished she possessed Snape's self-belief; he may have hid himself in the shadow but he was afraid of nothing.

"What are you doing up so early Miss Granger?"

"I went for an early morning stroll around the lake." she lied, feeling her cheeks flush. He contemplated her, as though he could see right through her lie. Perhaps he could. She knew from Harry that he was a very skilled Legilmens, he could probably see every confused thought swirling around her brain just now, laid open like a book before his gaze.

"Wasn't it rather cold?" he gestured to her outfit and before she could entangle herself further, he deducted fifty points and swept off in the direction of the dungeons. It wasn't until she made it into the common room that she wondered what Snape was doing on the Gryffindor corridor. His office was on the other side of the castle and none of the members of his house would ever stray as far as the Gryffindor side of the castle. It was like territory in the jungle, they each marked their own spot and stuck by it. She had never once seen McGonaghall in the Slytherin corridor.

To her surprise Ron was awake, lying on a battered red couch with a book spread open on his stomach. His hair stuck out at odd angles and he looked as though he hadn't slept.

"Hey." she whispered uncertainly and he turned to face her, the book falling with a thump to the floor of the common room. To her relief, a small smile crept over his features and he sat up, gesturing for her to sit on the couch.

"How are you Hermione?" he turned to ask her when she was beside him, the air between them tense. It was the first time they had been alone since they had split up and Hermione half expected Lavender to spring up from behind a sofa and pounce on Ron, spouting her stupid fluffy nicknames for him as though he was a toy. She didn't even treat him like a person but the only person it seemed to bother was her. Ron seemed quite happy with how Lavender acted around him.

"I'm alright. How are you?" she wondered if she could confess in Ron what was happening with Draco but she remembered his tendency to reach for his wand whenever he found something he didn't like. And he definitely wouldn't like Draco Malfoy messing with Hermione. She didn't even know if they were still friends or if it would be a territorial cursing. Ron didn't like Draco messing with the few things he did have.

"I've been better 'Mione."

She felt herself flinch at the nickname only he was allowed to call her, the nickname he had whispered when they had been together. It had been their secret code word, 'Mione was not Hermione Granger, the bookworm but somebody else, somebody Ron found irresistible. Unfortunately Hermione didn't know who 'Mione was.

"What's wrong?" she couldn't stop herself from caring. Ron had been her friend and at one point, more than that and he looked defeated, as though somebody had drained the air from him.

"I had a fight with Lavender. She's been sleeping with Seamus."

Hermione felt her mouth fall open in shock and she fumbled to close it. Just as his protectiveness for her would surely flare if he knew about Draco, she felt hers stir at this slight against her friend. Whatever Ron may have been, he was not the type to be treated like garbage and she was surprised that Lavender's confession hadn't brought out his fiery temper, charged him. Instead he looked as though someone had cut her strings. She wanted to grab her wand and storm into the dormitory but she knew it was not her place, she was too restrained for an action as bold as that.

"I'm sorry Ron."

"I should have known I guess. She was always finding ways to avoid me. I thought it was just a game, keep me interested. Looks like she just liked leading me on."

"When did she tell you?" she couldn't help but ask.

"She didn't tell me. I caught them. Now I don't know what to do 'Mione. I thought Seamus was my friend and Lavender, well she's supposed to be my...you know..girlfriend. Doesn't that mean anything? I don't know what to do."

"I don't know Ron." she replied, trying to keep her voice even. She knew what she would do and it wasn't a passive response. She would have her wand at Lavender's throat.

"Wait, where were you?" Ron gestured to the portrait hole and her outfit and gasped as realisation struck. "Those are your clothes from yesterday." he whispered.

"Its not what you think Ron." Hermione fumbled. "I fell asleep in the library." It was exhilarating how quickly she was able to lie and then she realised she was lying to keep Malfoy a secret. She wanted him as a secret, to keep in the dark of the night when she would dream of him. She wondered if it would happen with the light of day spilling through her window, her dreams of Malfoy were something that belonged in the shadows because then she didn't have to believe they were real. If they came into the light, she knew it would make her feel odd, force her to assess what was really going on. She still wasn't any closer to knowing what he was trying to do.

"You should get some rest. I'll stop bothering you." Ron pushed her towards her stairs shyly and she felt herself smile.

"You're not bothering me Ron. And I really am sorry about Lavender."

"I know you are 'Mione. You always were too nice to me." he sighed, slumping back onto the couch. She left him there because she knew there was nothing more she could do and sleep was climbing up her spine slowly, dragging her into the blackness.


	8. Chapter 8

DRACO POV

Draco was hiding amongst the stacks in the library, watching Hermione and Ron studying together, and hating himself every time he felt a flare of jealousy in his chest. Which, as they seemed to be giggling and laughing, not really doing much studying at all, was all the time. It was an almost constant pain in his chest now and he irritably cleared aside the books for a better view. He wondered what Blaise would think if he saw him now, creeping around after the mudblood as if she were some great prize.

_You know you felt something when she kissed you, _a voice reminded him in the back of his head. It was true, he had felt completely blown by the sensation of her kiss. Perhaps it was that she was the bookworm, part of the Golden Trio. It seemed that no matter what the trio did, everybody loved them, as if they were so fucking special. He cast his mind back to the Yule Ball, the first time he had really noticed Granger as anything more than an annoying muggle born girl that somehow managed to best him at everything without ever breaking a sweat. The only thing he could safely say he beat her at was flying and as far as he had been able to guess, she had a fear of flying. Without that crippling her, she probably would have soared through the skies with nothing to hinder her and he imagined how bitter the loss would seem if it was her on the broomstick instead of the Chosen One.

_We're more alike than you think, _had he really said those words?They were nothing like each other, they were polar opposites but somehow she got under his skin almost as much as he got under hers. He felt a sharp jolt of jealousy course through him as the Weasels hand brushed hers, his eyes narrowed as he watched them together. She looked happy, all traces of the drunk, confident Granger gone. She was back to hiding behind her robes and her books. Draco watched as she pushed away from the table and disappeared into the stacks. It wasn't hard to follow her and she didn't notice him until he was right behind her, too absorbed in her search for a textbook.

"Why are you following me Draco?" his name dripped like honey from her tongue and Draco pulled up his shield of arrogance and dignity, shaken to the core by how much he liked the sound of his name coming from her mouth. Images of her beneath him, touching herself, dreaming of him flitted before his eyes and he forced himself to concentrate on the bushy haired girl before him, staring at him curiously. She had looked so beautiful the night of the Yule Ball, in a purple dress that fell like silk from the delicious curves she had hidden away from everybody. Draco had harboured the fantasy of asking her to go with him, for once a fantasy free from malicious intent. Sure, he hadn't had the best intentions after the dance was finished, but he was sure that after he had danced her around the Great Hall and wooed her with his charms, she wouldn't have had good intentions about him either. She was tapping her foot against the wooden floor of the library, distracting his thoughts and he wanted to tell her to stop it, to stop tormenting him so he could just think.

"I need help with potions." the lie fell easily from his tongue and he tried to ignore the smirk that crept over her features. A Malfoy asking for help, she probably thought the world was collapsing around her.

"Ok. Now will you stop stalking me around the library? It's creepy." she grabbed an ancient textbook from the shelves, gave a satisfied nod and began to move back into the well lit study area.

"Granger, do you remember what happened after Hogsmeade?" the words were loose before he could snatch them back. The book she was holding fell to the floor with a 'thump' and she turned to face him, her cheeks stained strawberry red.

"What do you want Malfoy? You can blackmail me all you want. I was drunk on a school-trip, I get it, its wrong. Please just tell me what you want." she pleaded with him and he wondered if she had forgotten the passionate embrace they had shared. He tried to think whether Blaise would accept Granger kissing him as proof enough that he had broken her but he supposed it wouldn't work that way. They had made a deal, 9 days left until she was supposed to stand before the whole school and claim that she loved him. And she was worried he was trying to blackmail her. It didn't seem like a promising start. He fumbled, trying to find a way to bring out sensitive Draco but coming up blank he pushed her against the stacks and kissed her roughly. She struggled against him until he broke the kiss, breathing heavily and trying to control the whirlwind that told him to go back to his room and lock the door before he did something he would regret.

"What the hell is wrong with you Malfoy?" she hissed. If she remembered the kiss she concealed it well and Draco felt his heart deflate like a punctured balloon. She had been drunk but he had been sure there was something more to the kiss than a simple self esteem boost. He had hoped that she had actually wanted to kiss him, without demanding anything in return. Now it was a blank spot in her memory, almost as bad as what had happened between her and Blaise. He pushed the thought of his best friend toying with the mudblood from his thoughts. She had gathered up her book and was holding it close to her chest, like a shield, eyeing him warily.

"I won't have sex with you Draco." she finally mumbled, her cheeks flaring red and Draco found himself laughing. He decided not to tease her about the kiss they had shared in the room of requirement, knowing it might leave her feeling fragile and exposed. Then he thought of the ginger haired moron waiting for her at the table. Tit for tat, he reasoned.

"Too scared to show what you really feel for me now there are people around Granger. How un-gryffindor like. I thought if you felt the urge to kiss me, you would do exactly that."

She was staring at him oddly, her mouth turned down in a frown.

"I don't feel anything for you. If you are referring to what happened between us in the room of requirement, I was drunk. There's nothing more to it than that. Did you think I had actually started to fall for you or something? You're playing with me Draco but what you don't realise is I'm the smartest witch of our age and I can see right through you. You don't know anything about me and you will never have sex with me or make me feel anything for you other than pity and contempt." she finished and turned on her heel. Draco felt his anger flare powerfully, a dragon awakening in his chest and he grabbed for her. She danced from his grasp, pulling her wand from her sleeve and aiming it at his throat. Her eyes were liquid fire.

"I took care of you Granger. I could have taken your precious virginity anytime I wanted. Are you so jaded that you can't believe that I might have had good intentions?" he spluttered, losing himself in what was truth and what was a lie. It was hard to tell anymore, especially when it came to the rushing emotions that charged through him at the sight of her, riled up before him.

"Fuck off Malfoy." she spelt each word slowly before turning on her heel and making her way back to Ron.

HERMIONE POV:

So she had lied. Everybody lied. And then she had caved, as if he had unravelled her with one sharp tug and she was left floundering amongst the debris of what she had said, trying to work out which was truth and which was false. It had felt good to see Malfoy squirming as she interrogated him, told her exactly what she thought of him but when she got back to the table and Ron smiled his dopey smile at her she wondered what she was doing. She remembered the way he pawed at her, as if she were a strange animal he had discovered in the Burrows garden. Perhaps he would be better now he had experience but the thought of his hands running over her body after they had caressed Lavender's stupid, ugly flesh was enough to leave Hermione's stomach heaving and her appetite well and truly dead. She didn't know what was happening to her, why she was sitting in the library with Ron of all people, acting as though everything was just fine between them. As if they were best friends.

She wondered what he would say if she told him about Malfoy; Hermione had found that the problem with having two male friends stemmed from their desire to protect her, even when she was managing quite well on her own, thank you very much. But Ron and Harry didn't understand that whatever Hermione was going through, she was more than capable of dealing with on her own. They wanted to charge in and save her, like Princes on white steeds but somehow against the darkness of Malfoy, they didn't stand a chance. It wasn't just that he was powerful, he was...a Malfoy. She couldn't put it any better than that, his family had links with the greatest Dark wizard in history, Draco was tinged with his own inner darkness that gave him the desire and drive to fight for what he believed in, no matter how fucked up or how much those beliefs were influenced by those around him. She felt sorry for him in that moment, hiding behind his pure blood status as an excuse never to feel true emotion.

"Are you okay Mione?" Ron poked her, dragging her from her thoughts and Hermione jerked, knocking her book to the floor. She thought she saw a flash of shining shoes disappearing into the shadows of the stacks when she bent down to pick it up and felt a shy blush creep up her cheeks.

_He's playing with you remember, he doesn't care about you at all. _She tried to tell herself but she found herself dismissing the words. _Just another brainless slut. _

That thought had her jerking back to reality, coming up cold. She snapped around to face Ron who was staring at her worriedly and smiled brightly .

"Yes Ronald, I'm just fine." she lied. He bought it, Ron never bothered to question even if she was crying when she assured him she was fine. She remembered his blank expression after he had come across Harry comforting her after the Quidditch world cup. She had been tempted to leap onto Hary in that moment, the only time she had ever felt a brief urge to just get it over with, to lose the thing that was causing her so much grief. After all that was why Ron had split up with her, because she wouldn't let him touch her. Had it been because she wasn't ready or because deep down, she hadn't really wanted him to touch her? There had always been something in the back of her head that told her she shouldn't mess with her friendships. She looked at Ron, bent over his potions textbook and felt a small flare of familiarity in her stomach. She had always scolded the way his bangs had fallen over his eyes whenever he read, telling him he wouldn't be able to absorb all the information. He had retorted that if he wanted to absorb all the information he'd research an incantation spell and have the book read out its contents to him. She pushed herself from the desk and stood up, adjusting her robes

"I have to go." she mumbled. Ron nodded once, smiling at her bashfully, a promise to be fulfilled in that smile, if she chose to want it. In that moment, Hermione had never been so confused in her life. Not even the library would be able to help her with this problem.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I realised I haven't been posting these on my stories (I apologise. I don't make any money from these fics, don't write them for any purpose other than enjoyment.) Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

A/n:- I didn't actually realise people were reading this fic :S. I'm sorry to all of you who have been following and wondering whether I have fallen off the face of the planet. I got a new laptop so hopefully my posts will be more regular. The story takes a dark turn for a :D. Feel free to message, review ect.

DRACO POV:

Draco was furious with himself. He had allowed himself a moment of vulnerability, before the bookworm of all people and she had turned her wand on him as if he were a stray dog.

_Can you really blame her? _Draco's rational brain kicked in and he realised that no, he probably couldn't blame her for not trusting him. How was she supposed to know he was having a crisis? He couldn't exactly tell her what he was planning on doing to her but he half suspected she already knew. She knew something was going on, something that was making the Slytherin Prince act strange. He tried to pinpoint where exactly the feelings had begun but came up blank. Perhaps it had been after he had fucked the Slytherin, her face morphing into Granger's every time he looked down at her until he had taken to closing his eyes. He had to find Blaise and tell him he couldn't go through with it; perhaps it was the events of the summer, which still remained a mystery to almost everybody Draco knew, leaving him fragile but either way he knew he couldn't continue the sadistic game with Granger. Not when it suddenly felt as though he was the only one with anything to lose.

Draco didn't have any true friends, it was his family he had take into account. It was an even worst scenario to consider. He remembered visiting his grandmother and having her explain that the black holes on the family tree were those who had betrayed their pure blood lineage by falling for someone beneath them. It was hard to take the Black's seriously when almost everything they had had been turned over to blood traitors but they were his mother's family and Draco couldn't think ill of them. He knew a hole in the wall was the least of his worries. If his father found out he was pining after a mudblood, there would be hell to pay. Yes, he had to pull out of the bet before things got serious.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione tried to rationalize what she was about to do as she paced the corridors of the dungeon, waiting for a Slytherin to emerge from the common room so she could demand to see Draco Malfoy. She had been surprised at how easy it was to find the common room, only two corridors along from the classroom where Snape taught them potions. The commons room all had distinctive markers suggesting there was an entirely different part of the castle hidden behind a portrait. The Slytherin's was of an opera singer, clad in green and drinking from a snake goblet. They couldn't have made it more obvious if they had slapped a neon sign on the door. She tried to reason with herself that what she was doing wasn't all that bad, she was only here to thank him for taking care of her in the Room of Requirement. She had been selfish in the library and she regretted it, the way she always regretted her actions almost as soon as she was finished seeing them through. It was almost automatic for her to correct Harry and Ron now even though she knew they hated it. They would never say because they had grown to appreciate her quirks but she knew that they wished, sometimes, she would let up on them a little bit.

She sank against the wall and tried to crush her fists against her temples. A headache was threatening to come on and she had almost ran out of muggle painkillers. She hated the taste of the pain potion Madam Pomfrey brewed, it was far easier to swallow a small capsule and lie down until the pain went away. And she was trying to stay as far away from the medical wing as possible, in case the highly strung nurse got anymore ideas on how to unravel her memory. She scrambled to her feet as the portrait swung open and Blaise Zambini unfolded himself before her.

"You lost mudblood?" he sneered and Hermione fumbled for her wand, pointing it at him. He laughed, moving towards her and brushing her wand to the side. Red sparks fired useless into the wall beside them, "You always were so tense mudblood. Why can't you ever learn to relax?"

"Not around somebody like you Zambini." she retorted and he smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he grabbed a strand of her hair and tugged it through his fingers painfully. She winced but held her ground. His empty eyes stared at her, filled with amusement at how tormented but determined she seemed.

"I may not remember what happened that night but I know there is something about you that I don't trust. You're a bastard." she snarled, shoving him away from her as hard as she could. He barely stumbled but he let go of her hair, smiling at her rabidly.

"You don't remember Granger? You said it was the best night of your life. I'm hurt." he held a hand to his heart and this time the sparks flying from her wand were not useless. They flared over him, setting fire to his robes and erasing the taunting sneer from his features. He quickly doused the flame with his wand, glaring at her.

"What are you doing here Granger?" he made her name sound like an infection, like dirt from his shoe and she supposed that was exactly what she was. A flash of memory struck her like a lightning bolt.

"Death eater." she mumbled beneath her breath. She watched his eyes widen and before she could lift her wand, he had her pressed against the wall, a hand to her throat, choking the breath from her.

"Nobody will believe you Mudblood." he hissed, ignoring her desperate breathless pleas for him to release her. Just as the world had started to go blurry at the edges, the hand on her windpipe let go and she sucked in delicious air, falling to her knees. She stared between the prone figure of Blaise Zambini and her wand in confusion before she became aware of another person's harsh breathing. She looked up into the startled eyes of Professor Snape, his wand still pointed at Zambini's chest.

"I suggest you head back to your common room Miss Granger. I shall have a word with Mr Zambini when he comes too." his voice was silky, as if he hadn't just cursed a student but Hermione couldn't find it in her to question his actions, she scrambled to her feet and took off down the corridor. It seemed everywhere she turned she saw fragments of the night, littering the corridor floors like shards of broken glass. His rough kiss, almost as passionless as Draco's in the library before he held his wand to her temple and extracted her memory, cursing her as he did so. She felt sick and as she passed Moaning Myrytle's toilet, she let herself in quietly and locked herself in one of the cubicles.

She wasn't sick, of that she could be glad but she couldn't stop tears from streaming down her face and when Myrtle did appear, Hermione found herself confiding in the eccentric, out of step ghost.

"Blaise Zambini is a death-eater. I don't know who to tell, I don't know if anyone will believe me, it was so long ago. Draco Malfoy has taken to caring for me and I can't work out why and then Ron has to go have a fight with Lavender and suddenly appear back on the market, as if everything that happened between us never really mattered. I feel like I've been given a puzzle without a key, no clues how to break it." she sobbed and Myrtle nodded, leaning lazily against the wall of her cubicle.

"I've heard Draco talk about you. He's not very nice." she simpered and Hermione nodded, a bubble of mirth bursting as she started to hiccough.

"I'm not so sure anymore. I used to think he was the spawn of the Devil but I think he's becoming human. But why with me? He could have anybody he wants."

"Maybe its because he can't have you that he wants you. Just a thought. I've got to run, I'll be late for my swim with the giant squid otherwise." Myrtle passed through Hermione leaving her breathless and freezing for a second before diving into the toilet and disappearing completely. Hermione mulled over her words as she washed her face by the leaking sinks.

_There is nothing quite like the forbidden._

It was only when she made it back to her dormitory that she realised the events of the day had meant she had never had a chance to apologise to Draco. She thought about asking Harry to borrow Hedwig but she couldn't think of any excuse as to why she would have to send a letter so pulling her wand she concentrated on the spell she had learnt from a book about complicated charms.

DRACO POV:

Draco thought he was going mad when a shining green light flashed before his eyes and began to write a message.

It read: I'm sorry.

He knew instantly who had sent it, the only one that would care that she had spoke her mind. He felt his stomach lurch before climbing out of bed and finding his wand. He knew the charm by heart, his writing was in red. Tit for tat.

"Goodnight bookworm."


	10. Chapter 10

DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER. (unfortunately I am not gifted with that much luck :(.)

HERMIONE POV:

It made Hermione feel oddly tingly inside, like she was made of metal and somebody had struck her with a hard object, when the red letters flashed before her eyes. She should have known Draco knew the charm, he had always had a gift for the subject but he had somehow charmed his words into appearing exactly like his handwriting. And he'd made the words red, acknowledging her attempt at humour. She had always liked the colour green anyway, she reasoned with herself as she watched the letters fade before changing quickly into her pyjamas and checking no one else had seen the charm.

Would they be able to tell who had written it even if they had? Thankfully all her dorm mates were fast asleep, Lavender snoring away contentedly as usual. Hermione felt the brief urge to dip her hand in water or something else equally cruel to get back at her for Ron but she knew it was too easily traced back to her. And what kind rumours would that start anyway? She wasn't even sure she wanted to get back together with Ron, if she was seen turning on Lavender, that would be exactly what would be taken from her actions. At least that was what Ron would take from it anyway. She thought of the dopey smile he always gave her whenever she acted...well, like herself. Did she really feel something for him or was it all just screwed up? A screwed up, nonsensical friendship.

And then there was Blaise, hovering in the shadows like a bad omen. She wished she had never accepted Dumbledore's assignment. She knew it was no good to mess with Slytherins and whatever was going on between her and Draco fell under that category.

_You'd be safer with Ron, _a voice in her head mumbled and she shooed away the thought wasn't the type that needed a boy to prove anything to herself, she could cope very well on her own and when it seemed that all the boys she knew were going out of their way to mess with her head it seemed like a logical solution to spend some time by herself.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'll do." she murmured to herself quietly, flipping open Hogwarts a History and losing herself in what she already knew. What was safe and unchangeable.

DRACO POV:

Draco had always loved the sensation of flying, ever since he was six years old and his father had first set him on a broom. He had thought it was a kids broom but when he had kicked from the ground, he had soared into the air until the Malfoy Manor was little more than a blurry shape below him. He hadn't been scared, only exhilarated and free. Nobody could touch him in the sky, nobody could judge him when he was soaring amongst the clouds.

He yelled as a bludger shot past his head and he turned to glare at Nott, swinging his beater bat victoriously.

"Watch what you're doing Nott!" he scolded, scratching absently at his ear. He could still hear the whoosing of the heavy ball in the shell of his ear canal and it made him feel sick. He had been hit in his first match by a Gryffindor bludger, three hours in the hospital wing under Madam Pomfrey who for some reason had always disliked him and he hadn't felt any better. Nott grinned and swooped into the oncoming formation, allowing Draco to fall back and watch his team perform. He had been made captain almost two months ago but it still felt as though he were in charge of a gaggle of geese, they did nothing but act up and annoy him. He couldn't face the prospect of losing the Cup this year to the stupid Gryffindors, even if he had spent last night fighting down lustful fantasies about a certain bushy haired brunette. He had been surprised by the delicacy of her charm but he supposed she was the smartest witch of their age for a reason. She could pick up any spell almost instantly while Draco's talent only stretched as far as charms. He spent most of his time wishing he could have been talented at something a little more darker, something a little more useful for the life he was likely to have.

It kept him awake most nights when he considered the life he was going to have, the footsteps he was designed to follow in. It was exactly against the life he was destined to have to be fantasizing after the Bookworm, to be thinking of her even as he congratulated his team and sent them to the dressing rooms, telling them he was going to fly around a little more. He kicked his broom up into the fluffy clouds, it was a beautiful day over Hogwarts and the sun beat down relentlessly on the back of his neck. It was only when he pushed his broom to the maximum speed that he felt a breeze whip through his green quidditch robes. He shot out over the lake and gave a whoop as the Giant Squid lifted a tentacle in greeting. Even the thought of Voldemort couldn't dampen the sensation of rushing through the air. He shot out to the boundaries of the grounds and through the protective shields into Hogsmeade. He landed outside the Hogs Head and entering, he enjoyed a butterbeer, keeping the thought of Hermione close to his chest, like a warm spring morning.

When he made it back to the castle, he was staggering, his broom over his shoulder. He had decied it wasn't the best idea to fly, he wouldn't have ended up back at Hogwarts anyway. In this mood he would have ended up at the Manor, trying to confront his father about his blood line theories.

"She's a mudblood Draco. That's all she is." he muttered to himself as he slipped through the gates and began to walk up the driveway. He sensed the presence beside him and gave a start as he noticed Snape walking beside him.

"Hello Professor." he decided being caught sneaking into the castle after an illicit trip to Hogsmeade was the best time to try to break out sensitive Draco. Snape gave a snort and looked at him.

"You're drunk. Where have you been?"

"No offence Professor, but you're not my father. I don't have to tell you anything about where I go or what I think about or who I like." he was rambling, he cut himself off quickly but Snape had already heard all he needed to.

"Warn your friend Blaise to stay away from Granger. I may not like her but he is not to go around threatening pupils. Draco, where are you going?" Snape called after him but Draco was already running...well, weaving his way up to the castle as quickly as his ruined body could carry him. He could hear the sounds of dinner being served in the Great Hall and before he could consider his actions he burst through the double doors and made his way to the Slytherin table, grabbing his 'friend' by the collar and pulling him from the hall.

"What did you do to her?" he hissed when they were outside the doors. Blaise was watching him curiously but there was no trace of an apology, no trace of anything in his eyes, they were empty orbs looking into Draco's own and Draco shivered as he remembered the way his father had described the Dark Lords stare, like looking into the abyss. The future spread out before him, he would be the one to fight for his family's honour, Blaise would never have to worry about his place. Blaise didn't feel enough to care.

"Nothing she didn't deserve." he replied, pushing Draco from him and righting his uniform, "You stink of fire whiskey. You went for a session without me?"

"Stop trying to pretend that everything is ok." Draco yelled.

"But it is Draco. Everything is fine." Blaise tried to soothe him, Draco flinched away from his touch.

"I'm pulling out of the bet." he muttered. He suddenly felt completely drained of energy and ignoring the questions Blaise threw at his retreating back, he made his way to the only place he knew he could be alone.

HERMIONE POV:

"What do you thinks going on between Draco and Blaise? He looked pissed. In both senses of the word." Ginny muttered as she sat down at the Gryffindor table, grabbing the last roll before Ron could snatch at. He stared at her petulantly before shovelling everything in sight onto his plate before dinner was cleared away.

"Hermione." Ginny waved a hand before her face and she came back to the Great Hall with a bump. She had a feeling she knew exactly what was going on between Draco and Blaise, it had everything to do with her but how was she supposed to tell that to her three supposedly best friends? They would hear the word Slytherin and instantly jump to her defence. They would make sure she never had the chance to speak to Draco again.

"I have to go."

"Chasing after Draco now? I never thought I'd see the day." Ginny joked and when Hermione giggled hysterically, knowing her face was bright red and if she stayed too long they would be able to see through her, she left her friends staring after her worriedly, tearing out the Great Hall as if the devil was chasing her. She breathed in deeply when she reached the safety of the empty corridors and tried to puzzle out where Draco would have went. She followed her instincts and went to the Room of Requirement, starting in surprise when the door appeared as if cued by her presence. She pushed open the door warily and felt a wave of relief when she saw Draco, sitting hunched in a leather armchair with a cup of steaming coffee on the table next to him.

"Hi." she couldn't think of anything else to say as she stepped into the room and carefully shut the door behind her. She couldn't help her stomach twisting in anxiety as his cold grey eyes flicked over to her and fell to the floor. He looked drained, flawed. She had never thought she would see the day when Draco Malfoy lost his cool, cold demeanour. He looked like a little boy until he stood shakily and his body unfolded into that of a perfectly formed man. Something made from stone that was too perfect, too beautiful to be found more than once in a lifetime.

"What are you doing here Granger?" his words were slurred but he stood steadily, looking at her. To her surprise he pulled out his wand and motioned for a potion, swallowing it down and letting out a satisfied growl.

"What was that?"

"Cure all." he murmured, disappearing the bottle with a flick of his wand, "You haven't answered my question Granger."

"I came to check you're okay and to say thank you."

"If that's everything, you can leave now." he gestured to the door, sinking back into the leather armchair. She moved towards the door, her hand on the handle before she turned and asked the question plaguing her.

"Why did you defend me? I mean I'm guessing you were angry at Blaise for what happened last night."

"You're wrong Granger. I'm angry at Blaise for a lot of things, hardly any of them to do with you."

"Oh."

He turned to face her when he sensed her hovering at the doorway. He unfolded himself slowly and approached her, watching the emotions flicker over her beautiful face. Hermione could feel her heart thudding and when he leaned towards her, placing a hand on either side of her head, pinning her against the door, she felt her heart skip a beat. He was so close she could smell the pepperminty scent of his breath. It intoxicated her.

"You don't need somebody to protect you Granger. I shouldn't have to tell you that." he murmured, reaching out carefully, afraid of startling her and brushed a piece of her hair away from her face. It felt like silk. She wanted him so desperately to kiss her and when he did she didn't make a move to stop him. She kept still, afraid any sudden movement would have him darting away from her as though she were poisoned. His kiss was gentle, probing, completely unlike the Draco Malfoy she knew. It freaked her out.

She pulled him against her, letting out a breathy moan as his perfect seeker body pressed against her own petite frame. She could feel the tight lines of his muscles, the perfect skeleton that made him who he was. He was gasping, his kissing growing more desperate. He broke away from her lips and began to place kisses down her neck while his hands roamed her curves. Hermione felt as though she were falling into a vat of oil, she was unable to think, unable to move, the only thing she could feel was his touch. She pushed his robes off his shoulders and pulled his t-shirt over his head, breaking the pattern of his kisses on her neck.

"What are you doing Granger?" he moved away from her quickly, grabbing for his t-shirt and slipping it over his head, not before Hermione caught a glimpse of his sculpted chest. She felt her breath catch before she realised he had moved away from her. She shook her head. It was as though she was coming up from a love potion, her head felt fuzzy but she knew that everything that had happened between them had happened because she had wanted it to.

"I thought you'd want to." she whispered quietly. Before Draco could reply, she was out the room and halfway down the corridor, tears streaming down her eyes. Next time she would stick to her own rules; from now on Hermione Granger was going it alone.

DRACO POV:

"Oh Princess, I do." he sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. It was too late to go after her, she'd never listen to him anyway. And what would he say? He felt guilty for using her as part of a bet but he was sure his feelings were real? She'd never listen to him, never trust him ever again.

"It's for the best Draco." he tried to reassure himself before he remembered the forfeit. Lavender Brown and the Christmas ball. He let out a groan and sank into the armchair, wishing he hadn't taken the cure all as now he was all too aware that he wasn't fine. Wasn't even close.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: none of the characters belong to me, only this strange little plot bunny.

A/N – oh yeh, if you would like to review please do. :D.

DRACO POV:

The next few weeks passed in a kind of stupor for Draco Malfoy. He avoided the Slytherin common room as much as possible, wincing every time he heard his friends raucous laughter drifting up the stairs. He knew it was paranoid to think they were laughing about him but whenever he did emerge, his classmates gave him strange looks, as if he had suddenly revealed a third head. He wanted to yell at them, but words seemed to fail him whenever he left his room. So he studied, as hard as he ever had until he was sure his marks were just as good as the Bookworm's, maybe even better, and created an almost permanent dent in his windowseat, staring out at the other students enjoying the spring sunshine. He felt bitter that the sun was suddenly out, as if in reaction to his bad mood. He kept his room sparklingly clean so his thoughts had space to bounce around when all he really wanted to do was trash the place. Sometimes he took his broom from his closet and flew out the window, drifting over the grounds like a bird of prey. He never saw her though, no matter how hard he looked. It seemed the Bookworm had disappeared almost as completely as he had.

It was the Wednesday, the week before the Christmas Ball and Draco had no clean clothes left. He was perched on his windowseat in a loose pair of black pants and no shirt, enjoying the rays of sun on his skin for the first time in three weeks. The sky was azure blue and the Giant Squid was drifting lazily across the Great Lake. For the first time Draco actually wanted to be amongst people. It was a strange feeling; he had never been one for seeking out company and he thought of his mother alone in Malfoy Manor and decided that he knew what he would spend the day doing. Hunting amongst the piles of clothes on the floor (tidying had went out the window after the second week) until he found the least dirty shirt and a pair of pants and pulled them on. When he considered his reflection, he felt his heart sink into his stomach. He looked like shit.

_What's happening to me? _

"It's only because you can't have her that you want her so badly." he told himself but he couldn't believe his own words and the dead eyes of his reflection regarded him mockingly. "She's just a filthy mudblood, beneath you in more ways than one."

But he couldn't help remembering the way she had looked flushed and excited, how eagerly her kisses had sucked him in, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with what they were doing. Was it so easy for her to forget how he had treated her? Maybe it was purely lust driving their actions, on both sides. _Maybe she doesn't feel anything for you at all Draco. _

He ran a hand through his greasy blonde hair, muttering a spell to clean it and grabbed his broom from his closet. His desire for company had evaporated but tucking a quill and a length of parchment into his pocket, he threw his window open onto the cloudless sky and aimed his broom towards the Owlery.

HERMIONE POV:

Three weeks had passed since she had almost...slept with Draco Malfoy. She still couldn't quite get her emotions to stay in check whenever she thought about what had happened. She should have known he would reject her, should have known that it was all he had been angling for, stringing her along for the ride. But why had he pushed her off? Wouldn't he have wanted proof? She blushed as she thought of Draco Malfoy brandishing her panties to the Slytherin common room as proof he really had broken her in. They had been lace green as well, she'd never have heard the end of it.

She wished she could talk to Ginny about what had happened, somebody that had a bit more experience but she imagined Ginny's face when she told her that she had been toying with Malfoy almost as much as he had been toying with her. Would they even be her friends anymore? After all, he was supposed to be their enemy. _And he's supposed to hate you, and everything you stand for. _

She groaned and let her head drop onto the book she was trying desperately to study, clinging to some semblance of normality. The library was stiflingly warm and she had the whole place to herself, the rest of the students enjoying the early summer sunshine. She could hear the sound of their laughter drifting through the windows, Madam Pince glaring up at them angrily as if in the hope her voice could maybe be heard on the ground outside. Hermione closed the book and leaned her head against the cool cover, letting her curls spread around her like a halo.

She hadn't seen Malfoy in almost three weeks. He hadn't been down for any meals, had skipped almost all of the classes they had together. She had begun to wonder if maybe he had died, or been taken home to the Malfoy Manor but she overheard a snippet of Parkinson's conversation that confirmed Draco was still in the castle.

"He's not himself anymore," Parkinson had whined, "Last night when I went up to check on him, in my sexiest underwear, he pointed his wand at me and threatened to hex me if I didn't get out the room."

Hermione had felt a small flicker of pride that at least she wasn't the only one Draco was rejecting. _Is it because of me? _She clung to the thought hopefully but knew she was deluding herself with fairy stories. He was the Slytherin Prince, he had probably had bad news from home or something. Nothing she ever did would have any effect on Draco Malfoy or make him any less of a prick, she tried to tell herself but something in her gut niggled at her. She knew her friends were beginning to worry about her, wondering why Blaise Zambini was suddenly following them around like a bad smell and why the Slytherins were leaving them alone for once. Without their ring leader it seemed they didn't care enough to taunt the Golden trio. In a strange way Hermione missed his taunts, at least then she knew he was okay. She thought of the charm she had performed to make words appear in his dormitory and tucking the book under her arm to return to the shelves, she made her way into the shadows of the stacks and pulled out her wand. It wasn't really forbidden to do magic in the library but most people avoided it. Any spells with sparks were strictly forbidden. She tried to think of something she could say but all she could come up with was one word: Hey.

She wrote it out in green, hoping it would make him smile.

DRACO POV:

He covered two sides of parchment in his letter to his mother, keeping everything vague but somehow writing made him feel better. If it wasn't such a muggle thing to do he could picture himself writing poetry but tying the parchment to his owl- Salazar's foot, he sent it soaring into the air, the whimsical dream blasted away by the air currents. He had kept the letter vague, absolutely no mention that anything was out of the ordinary. His mother would, of course, show the letter to his father. As he was making his way from the owlery, his broom hoisted over his shoulder, the shrieking laughter of two girls caught his ears. He huddled into the shadows at the edge of the staircase and watched as Lavender Brown made her way up them, her silly friend that Draco couldn't remember the name of clutched on her arm. They were giggling irritatingly and swallowing the anger that was rising in his throat at the thought of what he was about to do, he pushed himself from the shadows and tried to summon his Malfoy charm from the depths of his battered soul. It seemed to work as when Lavender finally noticed him, an inch or two from his chest, a furious blush took over her face, making her look like a tomato.

_The weasel and her make a good couple, both red headed bafoons. _

"Hey, its Lavender isn't it?" his voice was hoarse but she didn't seem to notice. She was smiling at him giddily, her friend practically drooling. For a moment Draco found himself hating his title. Was that all anybody ever saw him as? A piece of meat, something to bed so they could boost their reputation. Lavender nodded eagerly.

"I was thinking you should ditch the Weasel and come with me to the Christmas Ball." he leant against the wall of the Owlery, examining his fingernails as if he really couldn't care less what her answer was. It was disturbing how quickly he could fall back into this persona, the deadness in his heart threatening to take him over when Lavender suddenly gave a squeal that had the owls rising from their nests in one cloud of outraged bird. Draco ducked his head and resisted the urge to shout at her.

"Great, wear something green." he left her there, staring after him like she had just seen a god and he had chosen to bestow his wisdom on her. He tried to picture saying those exact words to Hermione, wear something green. She would have defied him, would have turned up in something red and gold just to see the flash of anger in his eyes and the eventual surrender as he admitted how beautiful she looked.

_Stop losing yourself in fantasy Draco. You're going to lose your mind if you keep doing that. _

He made it to the bottom of the stairs and before he ran the risk of bumping into any more students he kicked his broom from the ground and headed towards Hogsmeade. He would need a new pair of dress robes, preferably the ugliest he could find.

_I wonder if she'll figure it out, the smartest witch of our age. Surely she won't be dumb enough to actually believe I'd take Lavender Brown to the Christmas Ball. _

He didn't make it back to his dormitory that night, spent the night and most of the day in a dinghy room at the back of the Hogs Head with a girl for company, her body warm and yielding, her eyes almost the same colour as Hermione's in the dim light.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, only this insatiable plot bunny.

A/N:- I realised I made a continuity error (I don't really know if anybody pays that much attention) but I thought I'd point out that Draco's owl is definitely going to be named Genghis. Not Salazer, as I called him in the last chapter by accident. I have a terrible memory.

HERMIONE POV:

She was sitting at the Gryffindor table when she heard it, the sound of Ron's fury and Lavender's girlish squeal that had Hermione's toes curling in her reliable school shoes. _Does she always have to squeal like such a girl, _a bitchy voice in her head chimed. She tried her best to concentrate on the words before her; she was reading something to do with the Potions but when the doors to the Great Hall slammed open and the unhappy couple stormed in she gave up and joined her curious stare to the others. On an impulse she grabbed a piece of toast and began to spread it with butter, knowing she was getting crumbs all over her uniform, even as she swivelled in her seat to watch the argument unfolding. It gave her a sick kind of kick inside to see Ron miserable but she tried to cover it; she was supposed to be his best friend and here she was gawping at his misery like it was a penny side show at a fun fair.

But she couldn't help it. She needed a distraction. A certain blonde boy still hadn't made an appearance at the Slytherin table and although she hadn't expected she would get a reply to her charm, she had still felt like her heart was being squeezed in a vice as she suffered her insomnia in silence. She was going to give herself a major caffeine habit if she kept missing sleep.

"First you cheat on me with Seamus and now you're dumping me to go with Malfoy to the Christmas Ball!" Ron yelled and Hermione felt a piece of toast slide into her throat and lodge there. She stared between Ron and Lavender, whose face was an ugly shade of puce, and tried to gasp in air until Seamus, realising what was happening, reached over and thumped her on the back. She gave him a grateful smile before her attention was drawn back to the fighting couple. Even the teacher's table appeared frozen at the revelation. Hermione thought about waving to Professor McGonaghall whose milk had begun to overflow from the side of her coffee cup and was gradually spreading towards Professor Flitwick when a chorus of booming laughter came from the Slytherin table.

Blaise's laughter sent an icy shiver down Hermione's spine but at least it drew everybody's attention away from the warring couple. Ron's face had turned the same colour as his ears and Lavender had the decency to run from the Great Hall before anything further could happen, to her anyway. But Hermione knew that Ron's fuse had blown and she jumped to her feet, launching herself after Ron who was pulling his wand and advancing on the Slytherin table with a rigid menace. Ron's anger had always been passionate, as uncontrollable as a kettle reaching boiling point and Hermione found herself terrified to get in his way. He wasn't acting as he normally did when he was angry, if anything he was cold and rational, like a hunter about to shoot a wounded deer. Only Blaise Zabini was definitely not a wounded deer, he was a lion.

"What's so funny Zabini?" he snarled when he reached the Slytherin table. She darted beside him and tried to push his wand down, whispering in his ear that if there was one person that wasn't worth the trouble, it was Blaise Zabini. She thought of the night on the Astronomy tower and knew that no matter how angry Ron was, his power was nothing over Blaise's. Blaise seemed to hear Hermione's words because he turned a predatory smile on her that managed to rile Ron up even further.

"Don't you look at Hermione that way." he hissed through his teeth.

"Seems you don't have to worry about your girlfriend running away with Malfoy when the Bookworm is so eager to take care of you." Before Blaise could utter another word, blood gushed from his nose and Ron stared at his wand in surprise.

"I didn't do that." he spluttered at her and Hermione nodded slowly, covering her mouth as a smile threatened to split her face in half at the sight of Blaise's startled, bleeding face. Her elation was cut short by a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned to face the assessing gaze of Professor Snape, who silkily deducted 1000 points from Gryffindor and gave her detention for later that night.

"But it wasn't her." she could hear Ron protesting after the Professors retreating back but she didn't bother to argue. Both her and Zabini knew it had been her, even if neither was willing to admit it but she could see him watching her warily. Maybe he'd think twice about hassling her again.

_I can always hope. _

She left the Great Hall, Ron trailing after her like a lost dog.

"I can't believe she'd do that to me. Draco Malfoy of all people. She knows how much I hate him."

She tried to block out his words, feeling a stab in the region of her heart that she couldn't really explain. Had she really been expecting Draco Malfoy to ask her to the Christmas Ball?

"I'm sure its a mistake Ron." When they made it to the common room she faked a yawn and escaped up the stairs to the empty dormitory, sighing as she flopped onto her bed. Her thoughts were a confusing mess. She tried to picture Malfoy asking Lavender Brown to the Christmas Ball. They were both pure bloods after all but why wasn't he taking Parkinson or somebody from his own house? She knew for certain he didn't subscribe to Dumbledore's house unity policy. _Maybe everything happening over the past few weeks has all been in your head. After all, he's hated you for five years, why would he suddenly start liking you now? _

She drifted into an uneasy sleep, her dreams almost as confusing as reality.

DRACO POV:

When Draco made it back to his room, his head pounding from a vicious hangover he wanted nothing more than to sleep. But when he finally managed to open the window to his dormitory- he was still avoiding people as much as possible- and into his room, he found he was not alone.

"Father, what are you doing here?" he couldn't help the trace of fear that crept into his voice. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to remember the last time he had checked his reflection. He knew he looked like shit and from the frown his father gave him, it was clear Lucius Malfoy thought so as well.

"Hello Draco. I came to see how my only son is doing. Not so good by the looks of it. I've been hearing some strange rumours." his father pulled his wand from his cane and conjured a black leather armchair from nowhere and sank into it gracefully. Lucius Malfoy never did anything ungracefully, never broke down, never showed a trace of weakness. Draco sank onto the bed, the familiar coil of rage tightening in his stomach at the assessing glance his father slid over him, completely emotionless. How was it possible to hate somebody so much but still want to please them? Draco had never been able to work it out. He took his wand out from the waistband of his jeans and summoned a bottle of cure all, ignoring the frown his father gave him. He smelt of the girl from the night before, Alisha, Alina – he couldn't remember her name, wasn't even sure he wanted too.

"What sort of rumours Father?" he probed, throwing the bottle into the overflowing waste paper basket. He tried to scan the room quickly to make sure there was no trace of the Bookworm, nothing that could link his tattered state to her in any way. He knew he was being stupid, it wasn't like she'd ever been in his room for any length of time but he checked anyway. It was as though she had infected him; she could be anywhere, waiting on the fringes to ensnare his thoughts and drag him deeper into confusion.

"Fraternising with the mudblood Draco." Lucius' gaze turned icy and Draco felt his heart begin to hammer uncontrollably. He did the only thing he could think of.

"It was only a game Father. A bet between myself and Zabini. Did you think something was happening between me and the filthy mudblood?" he laughed, surprised that he was able to keep his voice so cold, as if he didn't think of her before he fell asleep, as if he didn't remember the way she had kissed him. Everything he had ever hoped for had been promised in that kiss. Before Draco knew what was happening his father had risen to his feet and had his wand pointed at Draco's chest.

"I'm afraid you have to come back to the manor for a while Draco." the words seemed to come from far away as a blackness as thick as oil crept up the edge of Draco's vision until he was no longer able to see or feel, all his senses clogged completely.

HERMIONE POV:

Something bad was happening, Hermione could feel it. She had woken up icy cold in her dormitory, on top of her bed covers in full uniform. She couldn't remember falling asleep but it was night beyond the windows and the rest of her dorm mates were fast asleep. She pushed herself unsteadily onto her elbows and tried to remember what had woken her up. Malfoy. She had been dreaming about him. He had been torturing her, his cold eyes fixed on her own unflinchingly. She had felt every sharp jolt of pain as he pointed his wand at different parts of her, watching her as detachedly as if she were his puppet. She shivered as she remembered the coldness of his eyes. Dead eyes. The eyes of a Death eater.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N – I'm getting this all out while I still remember it :). Reviews would be welcome or messages. I don't bite...hard. Sorry this chapter is really short but its more filler than anything else. I want most of the action to take place at Hogwarts, I think it adds an extra something to the story if Draco becomes a death eater part of the way through his and Hermione's relationship. Any thoughts get back to me :).

DRACO POV:

When Draco awoke, his head felt as if it had been dipped in ice and a headache pounded behind his eyes. He felt queasy and his stomach rumbled hollowly. He opened his eyes slowly but wherever he was it was dark and for a moment he fumbled, wondering if he'd gone blind. He tried to summon up his last memory before the blackness had came: the cold mask of his father came back to him, sitting in Draco's dormitory room at Hogwarts. What had his father been doing at Hogwarts and more specifically why had he come to see Draco? Lucius never had anything to do with Draco's education, unless it was a chance to exert his influence. He didn't pay random visits to his son just for a chat. Draco fumbled around in the darkness until he felt the reassuring press of his wand against his naval and pulling it out, he cast an illumination spell. He almost felt like crying with relief when he realised he was back in his room at Malfoy Manor, not in the cellar, or in Azkaban as his tired, starved brain had thrown at him in his weakened state.

No, he was home in his own bed. But something was definitely wrong. Using the illuminated tip of his wand he moved to the window and pulled back the thick velvet drapes. A heavy moon hung over the manicured gardens and he could see the trees bending in the breeze. Everything else was stillness. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to piece the events of the evening together. He had went to the owlery and posted a letter to his mother. Something about the Bookworm was niggling in the back of his mind and he wondered if he had revealed something in his letter but he wouldn't let something like that slip. He'd had years of practice making his letters vague so that, if his father did read them, he wouldn't be able to read anything into them other than his son was a genius. Then he had went to the Hogs Head and got drunk. He coudn't remember the name of the girl he had picked up but she had definitely been pure blood, nothing wrong there.

_My father said he'd heard rumours of my fraternising with the mudblood. Who would have told him something like that? _Draco could only cope up with one answer and it made the bile in his throat rise:- Blaise. He felt a twisted smile spread across his features. Everything suddenly fell into place and Draco knew exactly why he'd been brought back to Malfoy Manor. It was his time. He stared out at the moon and tried to push the fear trilling through him to the back of his mind. It was his destiny to be a death eater after all, he had known it from birth. So why was he suddenly so afraid, so unwilling to accept what he had always known was going to happen? He whispered the charm and watched the light on the tip of his wand fade, feeling his spirit go with it. A stray image of the Bookworm entered his mind, her crouched in the library amongst the stacks, her hair a wild untameable mop as she hunted for some book or other. He found himself wondering what she'd say if he showed her the Dark Mark emblazoned on his pale skin, whether she'd show that Gryffindor tenacity and blast him into the middle of next week.

_Do you think she'd still want to kiss you with that mark on your skin? You'll have to get used to girls like Pansy throwing themselves at your feet. Cheap girls that will never fight with you, never challenge you, never do anything to make you happy. _

When the doors to his rooms banged open, he was still standing in the dark, considering the moon and the complete tranquillity of the night outside. He wished he could feel like that but inside, he was a raging storm. He felt, rather than saw Blaise beneath his mask, a grin spreading across his features.

_I wonder if he knows what he's done. _Draco thought to himself but he found he couldn't really be mad at his 'friend.' It was his own fault for being born a Malfoy, for never having the courage to stand up for what he wanted. He would always be controlled, while striving for control, always be beaten down while trying desperately to fight back. He thought of Harry Potter and for the first time wished things could have been different between them. He wished he had the courage to hex the Dark Lord but when he was dressed and led before him, Draco found he could do nothing but answer each question meekly, allowing the Dark Lord to invade his mind. When he held out his wand, the tip glowing a deep green Draco felt a sick kind of pride growing in his stomach. At least now he belonged somewhere. Hermione, fuck the Bookworm had her friends, they would stand by her no matter what but Draco had the men in masks between him, who would only let him be a part of them if he did exactly as they did.

_We're all slaves to something. _He thought as the Dark Mark dug its way into his flesh, mixing with his pureblood. When it was finished, he stared down at it coldly and then rolled the sleeve of his robe down to cover it.

"Thank you Lord." he found himself murmuring and then it was over. Draco felt something inside him slip away, never to come back.


	14. Chapter 14

DISCLAIMER: don't own Harry Potter.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione sat on the damp floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, trying to tell herself she was happy the ghost was gone so she could have some peace. But peace was the last thing she wanted; she wanted noise, distraction, something to take her mind off the spiral of self doubt her thoughts had dive-bombed into recently. She was smart, intelligent, yet here she was sitting in a bathroom in Hogwarts, crying over a boy for the third time this week. And to make matters worse she was crying over the Slytherin Prince, the boy who had made her life a living hell for almost five years. She was following in almost every girl's at Hogwarts' footsteps and it made her angry. It made her want to punch his stupid blonde face in but nobody had seen Draco Malfoy in almost a week, not since the news had spread that he had asked Lavender Brown to the Christmas Ball. The urge to douse the stupid bint in freezing water was almost too much for Hermione most nights, she had taken to napping fitfully on the couches in the common room; haunted by the same dream every time she closed her eyes, Draco's cold eyes and a snake twisting its way up his veins, the tattoo of the Dark Mark prominent against his milk skin,

She couldn't concentrate on her classes and worst of all, Blaise had started to follow her around like a bad smell, taunting her whenever he could.

And to make matters worse, the Christmas Ball was in less than a week and she didn't have a date. It really felt as if the world was out to get Hermione Granger. She had even owled her mother to ask for advice but the letter that had come back had been no use at all. Her mother couldn't understand that in the wizarding world blood was everything and Hermione had had to burn the letter after reading it in case somebody stumbled across it. Her friends knew something was wrong but their gentle probing had resulted in nothing more than a furious 'I'm fine.' How could she tell them she was having strange dreams about Draco Malfoy, dreams in which he was a death eater? Harry would pounce on them almost as soon as the words left her mouth and Ginny, well she was smart enough to know something deeper was going on. She'd see the blush on Hermione's cheeks and know that Draco had been the one toying with her. She had played out every scenario in her head, in one her friends forgave her and they managed to continue skipping around the loch (she had been tired that day, no, scratch tired, she had been exhausted.)

Every other scenario had them hating her. Those ones were definitely more plausible than the skipping. She put her head against her knees and tried to stem the sob rising in her throat. Why did she care so much about Draco Malfoy? Why was she worried that he hadn't been in school for almost a month when nobody from his own house seemed to care?

And why did it hurt so much that he had asked Lavender Brown to the Christmas Ball instead of her?

DRACO POV:

His mother kept him home for three days after his initiation and although he put up a feeble protest, he was glad of the break from Hogwarts. He didn't want to see anybody, least of all Blaise Zabini or his two stupid cronies that had somehow been inducted in as death eaters as well. They couldn't rub two sticks together and make fire, let alone carry out the top secret task the Dark Lord was hanging over their head like bait. Draco wanted the task, he'd never wanted anything so much in his life but a part of him was afraid. He knew he'd have been a stupid little boy if he wasn't but the fear he felt was almost tangible; it followed him around like a shadow. When three days had passed and his father returned from ministry business, Draco knew it was time to leave the Manor. Not even the dazzling sunshine on the pond could take away from the claustrophobia of the Manor walls whenever his father was home. It was as though the house had suddenly shrunk and nowhere he could go was far enough away to escape the piercing stare of his father.

Draco knew his father was in disgrace; the haggard look on his face told him so but Draco felt nothing more than a detached worry for his mother. Everything he did, he did for her, the woman who had always looked after him, no matter what. He had even pondered, during their three days together whether he could tell his mother about Granger. But he had kept his silence, spending his days reading and wandering the lawns, the Dark Mark burning irritably beneath the long sleeves of his shirt. What did it mean if it burned? Surely it should have settled down.

"Draco, I bought you something from Madam Malkins." his mother's voice floated through the door to his bedroom and pushing himself from his window seat, he let her in. His mother was a petite twig of a woman, her hair a lustrous blonde that matched Draco's own. The Malfoy hair was the distinctive identifier of the Malfoy family and while his mother's wasn't natural she suited it. She held aloof a package almost as tall as she was and wandered into his room, laying it on his bed and looking at him expectantly. He smiled at her and reached down to unzip it, unveiling a beautiful emerald green cloak.

"Mother its beautiful." he gasped, stroking the material in awe. It moved beneath his fingertips like water.

"I thought you could wear it to the Christmas Ball. Who is the girl you are taking again? Broke, is that it?"

"Brown, her name is Lavender Brown."

"I've never heard you mention her dear. What happened to that girl you were always talking about last summer, the smart one? I thought you were planning on asking her." his mother stripped the cloak from its packaging and reached up to fasten it around Draco's neck, smiling as she stepped back to regard her son's appearance. The look was one of pure love that Draco felt sick and moving past her, he stared at himself in the mirror. Had he really talked about Granger that much that even his mother had picked up on it? The queasiness only increased when he saw the cloak hanging from his shoulders. IT was beautiful, perfect. He would have picked it for himself in a heartbeat; it brought out the greyness of his eyes and the pure blonde of his hair but somehow the thought of Lavender Brown's hands anywhere near it had him unclasping it and folding it back into the packaging.

"Draco, what's wrong? Is it the Dark Mark? Your father was the same when he received his. I can make you some tea." his mother offered, moving to smooth his hair away from his face.

"Mother, I think I've made a terrible mistake."

He let her lead him from the room, into the parlour, a place only she was allowed to occupy, and waited while she ordered the House elf to make them tea before he let the words tumble from him like a waterfall. Everything about the bet and taking care of Hermione when she was drunk; he didn't even care that he referred to her by name, the kisses they had shared and the way she made him feel. When he was finished his mother was looking at him in quiet deliberation.

"Do you know I hated your father the first time I met him? I thought he was pompous and arrogant and I wanted nothing to do with him."

"Mother does this have a point because it isn't really making me feel better. And I definitely don't want to marry the Bookworm."

"All I'm saying is love doesn't always happen the way you want it too." she cut off his protests with a wave of her hand and when the tea arrived she bored him for two hours on the latest garden party she was planning on hosting. By the end of it Draco was sure he would be happy to see the brainless goons he called his 'friends.'

His mother's words haunted him as his father apparated him back to Hogwarts and left him standing in the entrance hall, the Madam Malkin's cloak tucked beneath one arm and a care package from his mother tucked under the other.

"Goodbye Draco." he called before apparating in a swirl of inky cloak. Draco didn't bother to reply. He set off for the dungeons, his Dark Mark still burning irritably beneath his skin. When he made it to the common room he found Blaise slumped in his favourite armchair by the fire, grinning at him arrogantly.

"Ah the Prince makes his return."

"Shut up Blaise." Draco retorted, sinking into the armchair across from his friend and unwrapping his mother's package, he placed it on the table between them, breaking a piece of her cherry cake apart and eating it contentedly.

"I'm glad your back." Blaise muttered when the cake was finished and they were the only two left in the common room.

"It's nice to be back." Draco replied, surprised that the words rang true with himself. It was comforting to be back in the common room, surrounded by people who thought as he did, who weren't the Bookworm.

"Looking forward to the Ball then." Blaise gestured to the Madam Malkin's bag dangling over Draco's chair.

"It will be nice to see the look on Weasel's face when I'm having it off with his girl on the dancefloor." Draco replied coldly. Nothing gave away that he was thinking of Hermione in his arms, rather than Lavender. Blaise laughed approvingly and they spent the rest of the night talking about nothing in particular, just as Draco had hoped they would.


	15. Chapter 15

DISCLAIMER; don't own harry potter.

HERMIONE POV:

"I want to punch his smarmy face in. He keeps looking over here, he's asking for it. I swear to god I'll punch him into the middle of next week." Ron fumed as they sat in Potions class, trying to extract the venom from a Doxy beetle, thankfully stunned on the table before them. Hermione knew who he was talking about although she was trying desperately to tune Ron and Harry out. They had been going on about Draco Malfoy for what felt like hours even though they had only been in class for ten minutes. She had felt him as soon as he'd entered the class, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as if warning her of danger. She had wanted to turn in her seat and look at him but she had held herself rigid, staring at the diagram Snape had drawn on the blackboard of a Doxy beetle fighting off a Flobberworm. It didn't have anything to do with the potion they were making but she didn't bother to question the Professor about it this time, she was simply glad to have something to look at.

She knew she was the only one in the class staring at the front, everybody had turned to look at the return of the Slytherin Prince. She could hear Lavender giggling horribly at the desk across from her and Pansy shrieking that Draco had left her alone for too long. It was as though they were welcoming some kind of war hero instead of a stupid pompous wizard, who WOULDN'T LET HER SLEEP.

"Just leave it Ron, he isn't worth it and neither is she. You told me you were planning on splitting up with her before the Ball anyway."

"Yes but she wasn't to know that. And at least if she'd stayed with me I'd have somebody to go with instead of promising to go stag with Neville." Ron sighed, letting out a shriek as a Doxy feeler stabbed beneath the skin of his pinkie. He sucked the venom out and spat it into Harry's cauldron, "I hate potions." he mumbled beneath his breath as Snape swept over to them and glared venomously. He nodded once at Hermione's bubbling orange potion, frowned at Harry's before sweeping away. Hermione had always wondered where he had learned to walk like that, whether it was something that came with the creepy package.

"You could always take Hermione." she heard Harry's whisper as though he had yelled it but she kept her head down, squeezing the last drop of venom into her potion and stirring it twice clockwise. Her friends knew she still hadn't been asked to the dance and it made her cheeks burn to think they were setting her up, as though she were a leper, unable to attract a man of her own. She didn't let the thought overtake her that every boy she seemed to fancy seemed to prefer the blonde bimbo sitting on her right. Although a shitty mood really couldn't make the day any worse in Hermione's estimation. She half expected the cauldron in front of her to blow up, Snape to suddenly decide he hated her worse than he already did and Harry and Ron to somehow find out what had happened between her and Draco and she would be having the worst day of her life.

She counted her blessings she was only halfway there. When the bell rang, she took her time packing up her materials, sensing he was doing the same. She wanted desperately for him to leave but realised too late that his laid back attitude had been an attempt to trap her. One that had worked quite successfully as she walked into his chest and let the books she was carrying topple from her arms.

"Hello Granger."

"Hello Malfoy. I was hoping you'd died." she let the insult fall from her tongue and kidded herself it was almost as easy as it had always been. But she found herself noticing that he was wearing long sleeved shirts and he smelled different, citrussy as if he had changed his aftershave. She missed his woody smell she noticed as she bent to retrieve her books, staring up into his grey eyes as he bent to help her.

"No such luck Granger. I'm alive and well. How are you?" the question was almost nice, his stare was anxious as though he knew he was letting his guard down and was waiting for her to fire a bullet through his heart.

"I'm ok." she lied.

"Yeh, me too." Draco replied, licking his lips nervously.

"Why were you waiting for me?" Hermione found herself asking, desperately hoping for some sign that the Lavender Brown rumour had been just that, a rumour.

"I wasn't waiting for you Granger. You walked into me." he pointed out and Hermione felt a pit open in her stomach. She nodded weakly once and pushed past him, clutching her books close to her chest as a wave of tears threatened to engulf her.

"Her...Granger." he ran after her and grabbed her arm, sending her books toppling to the ground once more, "Can't you hold onto anything?" he muttered as he bent to pick them up once more. She felt a solitary tear trickle down her cheek and hoped it would have run its course by the time he rose to give her the books. It hadn't and she found Draco brushing it off her cheek with his thumb. His face was close to hers, so close she could smell the mint of his toothpaste.

"Have you worked it out yet?"

The question jolted her eyes open and she stared at him in confusion. Worked out what? What was he talking about? He looked almost apprehensive until his expression broke down into one of exasperation.

"You're supposed to be the brightest witch of our age. Work out what I was doing so you can hex me already. I'm sick of waiting for it to come."

"Why would I hex you?" Hermione stared at him.

"You can do better than that Granger. Do you really think I want to take the Weasel's cast off to the ball?" he piled the last book into her arms, she was half hidden beneath them, her face trapped in an expression of confusion. He left the classroom before she could work it out and reach for her wand, or before she dropped her stupid books again.

DRACO POV:

How could she not have worked it out? Draco had been expecting a stormy reception when he returned, but instead she had ignored him. He had been forced to wait on her after class and even then she had practically walked into him as if she hadn't noticed his return. How could she have failed too? Hadn't she been waiting to hex him for weeks and weeks after how he had left her? Surely that had been a big enough hint that something strange was going on. Draco Malfoy did not turn down sex. He practically ran from the Potions classroom to his dormitory and collapsed onto his bed. He had heard stupid Potter whispering to Weasel that he should take Hermione to the ball and the thought made Draco shiver. But somehow an idea had occurred to him. If Hermione did work it out, she would hate him forever. But that was a good thing. He couldn't have his feelings for Hermione developing into something more. Maybe if he helped the Weasel up his game he would be able to forget about her. Forget about the way she moulded against his chest, the honey of her eyes, the crazy way her curls went when she hadn't had time to cast a taming spell on them. He could feel his groin twitching in his trousers and drawing the curtains around his bed he let himself be carried away by thoughts of Hermione's body beneath her robes, a body he had seen only too briefly.

HERMIONE POV:

Had she worked what out yet? Hermione left the Potions classroom, her head spinning and a few more tears making tracks down her cheeks. She startled as Blaise Zabini burst from behind a tapestry and began walking beside her, humming tunelessly.

"What's the matter Bookworm? Fail a test?" he mocked and Hermione felt her anger bubble beneath the surface.

"Why are you following me?" she spat, quickening her pace up the corridor. It was no match for Blaise though, who was at least a foot taller than she was and matched her pace easily.

"You shouldn't let Draco get under your skin. He likes toying with people. He thinks of it as some form of sport." Blaise sighed when they reached the entrance hall, completely ignoring her question and disappearing through the doors onto the grounds.

Hermione's books tumbled to the ground once more but this time nobody helped her pick them up. She put her head into her hands and began to laugh, sobbing hysterically as she did so. How could she have been so stupid? Draco had been toying with her and somehow he'd lost. That was why he was taking Lavender Brown to the dance. She thought of Blaise's eyes dancing as he told her how Draco liked to toy with people. It had been him all along. Hermione fumbled in the pocket of her robes, feeling the reassuring presence of her wand beneath her hand. She followed Blaise into the grounds, waiting until he left the track before stunning him and marking his wrists with white bracelets. They would prevent his magic from flowing until they were removed. She left him there, not even caring that it was growing dark and he probably wouldn't be found until the next morning.

"Fuck you Zabini." she muttered at his stunned body before heading back to the castle and hunting out Ginny.

"I've decided I'm going to the ball. Can we go shopping for a dress tomorrow?"


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione realised she hadn't really been shopping until she'd been shopping with Ginny. She sat slumped at a table in the Hogs Head, surrounded by bright wrapped packages that had definitely depleted half her bank balance at Gringotts. She rationalized that it was a one time thing but buyers guilt had set in and she took a deep swallow of Butterbeer, trying to quell the urge to take everything back and go to the Christmas Ball in her school robes, as she had been planning from the very beginning. Nowhere in the rules did it say the Christmas Ball had to be formal. She wasn't even sure the five dresses she had bought with Ginny could be viewed as formal; they exposed way too much flesh for high end parties. She felt a flush as she thought of the ruby red dress she had tried on in the last shop. It had been a halterneck, something she would never normally have picked and despite Ginny's insistence that it suited her and was sure to grab the attention of whoever Hermione was after (she hadn't, yet, confessed to her friend what was going on although she knew Ginny had her suspicions; Hermione never wanted to go shopping, especially not for slutty outfits,) but she had left it hanging on the rail in favour of a lavender dress that had caught her eye. It was similar to the one she had worn at the Yule Ball and that dress had had the desired effect.

She wondered if Draco was anything like Krum, but knew the answer was negative. They were nothing alike and Hermione had no idea why she was shopping for a dress to get back at the Slytherin Prince. She had no idea why she cared so much, why she wanted to feel him looking at her, she just did. It was making her head hurt and her caffeine habit had almost doubled in the last week. It was beginning to mess with her brain, in the same way her feelings with Ron had interfered with her schoolwork for most of last year. For a few insomniac hours she had even started to fear she was falling for the Slytherin Prince but she had dismissed the notion. She was far too rational for that. She was, after all the smartest witch of their age, she knew better than to get mixed up in something she couldn't handle. And Draco Malfoy was definitely something she couldn't handle.

"Another butterbeer Hermione?" Ginny offered, grabbing her purse from her bag on the table and heading to the bar at Hermione's weary nod. She returned with two overflowing tankers and placed one before her before turning a questioning glance on her friend.

"So, are you finally going to tell me who this boy is? I'm guessing its not my brother." she ventured and Hermione spilled some of the butterbeer down her front trying to contain her laughter. The image of Ron's face when he saw her in one of the dresses was almost to much to take, he had always looked so comical whenever he saw Hermione dressed in something other than her school robes. The first time he had seen her in a pair of jeans she had thought his head would explode. It wasn't exactly the look she desired, having a boy drooling over her with his mouth open. She thought of Draco's cold eyes, how they appraised her, judged her and how she should have hated him for it. She gulped down a few more fortifying swallows of her beer, already feeling the beginnings of a buzz in her fingertips and regarded her flame haired friend. They should have been able to tell each other everything but Ginny's feelings for Harry might cloud her judgement. And wasn't she always the one pushing Ron to make it up to Hermione?

"I don't know if I can tell you." she muttered feebly and Ginny stared at her pointedly. Hermione felt her heart tumbling around her chest like knot weed before Ginny shrugged and began to regale Hermione with the tale of Blaise's discovery. Hermione tried to hide her smirk at the fact that Blaise hadn't managed to get the white cuffs off from around his wrists before the realisation that she was supposed to be in detention slammed into her and she leapt to her feet, grabbing packages to her chest and throwing apologies over her shoulder at Ginny, who stared after her flabbergasted and bemused.

Disapparating with parcels proved to be the most difficult thing Hermione had ever done as she landed in her dormitory with a bump, the parcels scattering in all directions and Lavender letting out a squeal as a Madam Malkin's package split open, revealing a lacy black dress that Hermione had hoped nobody would ever see. She moved to snatch it from the blonde girl who was staring at it in awe.

"Hermione, is that yours? I never pictured you wearing something like that." she crowed, holding the dress against herself and moving to the mirror. Hermione felt a flash of white hot hatred at Lavender's vain expression as she twisted backward and forward, the dress pressed over the top of her already modified school uniform. How could none of the teachers gave Lavender into trouble for having her skirt two inches shorter than regulation length or the fact that she always left the top three buttons of her shirt undone so everybody could see what colour bra she was wearing. She had taken to wearing Slytherin green and Hermione felt herself bristle as the memory flared of how she had transfigured her black tanktop into the Slytherin colours, all to see the look on that smarmy gits face.

"Yes its mine." she spat, snatching it from Lavender and bundling it, along with her other purchases into her trunk which she sealed with a silent locking spell. Lavender was staring at her wordlessly before she returned to looking at herself in the mirror and throwing observations over her shoulder at her best friend Padma Patil.

"I wonder if the rumours about Draco are true. He might be able to teach me a few things. I bought a copy of Playwitch, we should go look at it." Lavender suggested to her friend who shrugged before throwing a copy of a dirty magazine in Lavender's direction, "Hermione do you want to have a look? Or are you still clinging to the Miss innocent persona? I don't think anybody would believe you innocent after buying a dress like that." Lavender sniggered, holding out the magazine goadingly. Hermione stepped towards it, flinching as she saw a naked wizard posing on the cover, flexing his muscles at her teasingly. He was handsome, but had nothing on Draco's hard planes and milk white skin. She shook her head, flushed and began fixing her hair over Lavender's shoulder.

"Just because I don't feel the need to broadcast everything I do doesn't make me a prude." she found herself saying. It shut Lavender and Padma up anyway, at least until Hermione left the dormitory and she heard them break out into furious whispers.

She made her way to Professor Snape's office. She was late by about five minutes, a first year had managed to set a chair in the common room on fire but she reached out and knocked bravely. When she opened the door the Professor was hunched over his desk, scrawling in red ink on a set of essays. She thought she recognized the handwriting on the top one before the Professor looked up and shuffled them into a drawer, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"I've been hearing some strange rumours Miss Granger." he made a steeple with his fingers and regarded her over the top. His eyes were the colour of midnight, and they pierced her to her very soul.

"Rumours sir?" she gulped. She had a feeling this had everything to do with the white bracelets she had placed around Blaise's wrist. She hadn't known the spell would work so effectively, she had read it in a book in the restricted section of the library, one of the few she had found on the practice of powerful good magic. So many books leaned towards exploring dark magic but Hermione was far more interested in the magic that could be strengthened by a human's willingness to do good.

"The spell you cast on Blaise Zabini was very impressive. The best charm I have ever seen performed to date. There is only one problem and it is rather a serious one."

"I'm the only one who can take them off." Hermione concluded softly and Snape nodded. He didn't look nearly as angry as she had been expecting.

"I know of your history with Zabini," he shot her a piercing look and Hermione felt herself blushing, "and I feel that the best course of action would be to report this to Dumbledore."

"You know Zabini is a death eater and yet you still let him wander the corridors? He's dangerous!" Hermione found herself yelling and Snape nodded slowly, as if he had already taken this into consideration and was waiting for a rather slow child to catch up.

"His beliefs are his own choice. Nobody can make them for him. Dumbledore is a lot wiser than you give him credit. He knows death eaters wander these halls."

"Why does he let them?" she whispered vehemently and Snape looked at her, as though she had asked the strangest question and should have known the answer all along.

"Because Dumbledore believes that people have to make their own decisions and their own mistakes before they can find who they truly are. I'm sure he doesn't expect to cure all death eaters that make their way through Hogwarts but the best he can do is give them a home away from the beliefs others may be trying to force on them."

Hermione found herself nodding, a wave of guilt absorbing her as she thought of her own beliefs and how nobody had ever really taken them seriously. There had been the disastrous attempt at S.P.E.W which nearly everybody had given up on, expect for her. But when she searched inside herself for pity for Blaise, she came up empty. Perhaps there were those forced to accept their fate but Zabini was not one of them, he was cold and dead all the way through.

"What is my detention Professor?" she finally asked, when they had sat in silence for almost ten minutes. It was as though Snape had forgotten why she had come to his office in the first place and was staring at her with something bordering on curiosity.

"Ah yes, your detention Miss Granger. I have decided you will assist Mr Malfoy in a tutoring lesson tonight. Unfortunately his Dreamless Draught appears to do everything it is not supposed too. He's in the Potions Classroom just now. I'll be through to check on you in an hour."

Hermione felt her heart bubble into her throat as Professor Snape dismissed her, removing the sheaf of essays and returning to marking them with an eager zeal which could only come from awarding pupils bad grades. Snape never looked happy when he was handing out top marks. She made her way slowly towards the Potions Classroom. She thought of all the useless packages in her trunk, all the items she had bought to make herself ….not herself and sighed, tugging her robes back into position. When she cracked open the door of the Potions classroom and peered tentatively inside, she saw Malfoy stooped over his cauldron, scratching irritably at something on his arm.

"Stop stinging you blasted thing. What do you want from me?" she could hear him muttering audibly and terrified of disturbing him she went to close the door. She would tell Snape she couldn't do it, that she would do any other detention he had in mind for her but the door creaked and the silence was shattered. Draco rounded like an animal cornered and stalked to the door, wrenching it open and staring at her in shock and unease.

DRACO POV:

How long had she been standing there, something in Draco's brain screamed to him to ask her but he stood silently staring at her, like a fish out of water. What was she doing here in the dungeons at night?

"Detention. Snape asked me to tutor you." she spluttered, as if reading his mind and he stepped back to let her into the classroom.

"What did you hear Granger?" he found himself asking as he shut the door behind her and moved in front of it, blocking her escape. She rounded on him, her brown eyes wide with panic.

"Nothing, I didn't hear anything." he could tell she was lying, the tiny tremor in her lower lip gave it away. Those kissable, sexy lips that he couldn't help but imagine wrapped around his hard length. His groin gave an involuntary twitch at the pleasant thought.

"Liar." he grabbed her wrist and thrust her against the door, pinning her petite frame with his toned seeker body. Her eyes had turned molten and he thought he recognized the stirrings of lust deep within. He desperately wanted it to be so as he reached out a thumb to caress her cheek and she flinched away from him, like a terrified insect.

"What were you talking about? What keeps irritating you?" she finally asked, her brown eyes wide with his own. She was doing her best to appear unafraid and Draco found himself snarling his disapproval. He wanted to see her afraid, he wanted to see the Bookworm broken before him just so he could get on with his life and stop having crazy thoughts about her. Stop imagining her on his arm at the ball, stop imagining ripping her robes from her body and taking her so she couldn't walk for weeks.

_Show her the Mark. _The thought occurred to him like a flash of lightning. If there was one thing that would break the Gryffindor Princess, it was seeing the Dark Mark on his skin. It stood for everything he was while she was everything it hated. He pulled away from her and wrenched up the sleeve of his left arm. The snake twisted and uncoiled, bearing its fangs at Hermione who let out a sob and fell to the floor of the potions classroom in a dead faint.


	17. Chapter 17

DISCLAIMER; Don't own Harry Potter.

A/N:- Snape has already given Narcissa his word, he will be responsible for both lives I think. It might not come in later, depends how much of this I keep writing. :).

Snape sighed as he pushed the sheaf of essays into his drawer and locked it. Some of his students were beyond stupid, it felt like some of the essays had never been near the library. He tucked the small silver key into his pocket and stood, rearranging his robes and decided it was about time he checked on Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy. Snape knew about Draco's recent transition to the Death eater ranks, it sent prickles up his skin to think about it as memories of his own initiation surfaced. He had been young and hurting, much the same as he presumed Malfoy was at the moment. Potions had never been Draco Malfoy's strong suit, he always managed to produce a suitable draught of whatever potion he was set but if Snape knew anything potions had to have heart. They had to have something of the person in them to make them powerful, to make them last. He wasn't sure if Draco Malfoy had enough of himself left to give to put into his Potions homework. But not even Snape's favourable treatment of the Slytherin Prince would help him pass Potions if something wasn't done to improve his grade.

Hermione Granger had always surprised Professor Snape. She was undoubtedly intelligent but intelligence wasn't enough when it came to Potions. He had never shown the girl show any inclination towards emotional outbursts, in that Snape was quite similar to her, but whenever he was brewing a potion he was able to lose himself completely, to escape the walls of Hogwarts. He could brew any Potion listed in the textbooks without a list of ingredients. So when he had first set Hermione Granger a potion, a simple antidote, knowing she was a Gryffindor and a muggle born, he hadn't believed the Potion brought back to him could be hers. It was probably the reason she had always believed the Potions Professor held a dislike for her but in fact Snape had felt the stirrings of something he hadn't felt in a long time:- jealousy- at the sight of her potion. The bushy haired muggleborn was almost as good as him, in fact, he still ad her bottle of antidote in his supply cupboard, a passable enough draft that he could even recommend its use to Madam Pomfrey.

He pushed his chair back from his desk and swept along the corridor towards the Potions classroom where he had assigned Draco Malfoy the task of brewing another batch of Amortentia. He paused at the door, it was closed. Snape felt a sneer curl up the edges of his mouth as he wondered what kind of hexes the two enemies were throwing at each other in the classroom. It had been the ideal detention to set Miss Granger, he had heard all the stories of Draco and Hermione's hatred of each other ricocheting through his classrooms and it had given him a sick shiver of pleasure to think how he could punish Hermione Granger with the full backing of the school behind him. He frowned when he heard only silence from within and pushed on the door handle. He struck a dead weight. That was when he heard the panic from within.

DRACO POV:

"Hermione, Granger, wake up! Just wake up! It's only a stupid mark. Fuck it doesn't mean anything. It's not what you think. Fuck!" Draco had realised showing her the mark had been a bad idea from the moment he had rolled up his sleeve. The way the snake had launched itself against his skin, wanting to stretch beyond its prison and out at her, wanting to hurt her. It was still stinging, burning irritably and his mind was still whirring with thoughts of Hermione, lying unconscious before him. She was barely breathing but her pulse was strong beneath her creamy, soft skin.

"Mr Malfoy, open the door." Snape's voice silenced Draco's furious rambling. Of all the times for the Professor to chose to check on them, he had to pick the worst possible moment. Draco pulled out his wand and unlocked the door, then set about shifting Hermione's body away from the door. Snape swooped in, glancing between them in something resembling exasperation.

"What did you do to her this time Mr Malfoy?" he moved to check Hermione's pulse, then swept past Draco to his supply cupboard, pulling out a small vial of cure all. Before he could dribble it between Hermione's lips, Draco had an idea and pulling out his wand he aimed it at his Professor's heart. Snape cocked an eyebrow at him curiously.

"I showed her the mark. I had to stop thinking of her, if the Dark Lord reads my mind and knows how I think about her, he'll kill me. I don't want to die. Not yet." he was rambling again but he couldn't stop and Snape was looking at him and his wand was beginning to spark and HERMIONE WAS JUST LYING THERE.

"What are you talking about Mr Malfoy?" Snape was staring at him, his black eyebrows knit together.

"I like her! I like Granger. I like the filthy mudblood but I can't ever tell her. He'll kill me, then he'll kill her." the thought of Granger dead before him made his heart clench painfully in his chest and he lowered his wand. He hadn't known what he'd been thinking pointing his wand at the Professor but suddenly an idea occurred to him. "Swear to me you'll protect her." he raised his wand once more, a sudden steely determination coming over him that made it easy to forget the man before him held power he did not.

"Why would I do that Mr Malfoy? Miss Granger means nothing to me." Snape replied plainly, as if stating a simple fact.

"Because I know, I know who you liked in school. I know you were in love with Harry Potter's mother." the words slipped from Draco and into the classroom. His Professor paled visibly, something Draco would never have thought possible of Snape's dead complexion. For a moment he was sure Snape was about to join Hermione Granger on the floor.

"How could you possibly know that?" Snape whispered.

"My father told me. He was at school with you in Hogwarts, do you not remember? He told me you pined after a muggle born."

"Why would you think our situations are remotely similar?" Snape's familiar hiss was back but Draco knew he had got beneath the Professor's skin for it did not send an icy shiver crawling up his spine. He thought of the oath he had read in one of the books on Dark Magic in the school library, that sealed two lives together and bound them with invisible ropes. "My love for Lily Potter was pure."

"If your love was so pure why would you take up with the Dark Lord and spy on Dumbledore? It was Voldemort," he paused expecting a wince but Snape stared at him stonily, "that killed her, not Dumbledore. He'd have been only happy to help you protect her. Maybe our situations are more similar than you would like anyone to know about. Swear it to me, swear that you will save her from whatever harm you can."

"Draco there are ways the Dark Lord can never find out. I can train you. We don't have to take the oath." Snape stated almost pleadingly.

"Are you scared Professor? You know what's going to happen don't you? You know they'll come here eventually. Hogwarts will fall. I won't let anyone hurt her."

"Why Mister Malfoy? What has changed your mind?" the Professor was now looking at him, desperate for answers. Draco searched his own mind for when it had all become so serious. Hearing his mother's words in his head he dismissed the thought for the second time that what he felt for Hermione was love. No, it was nothing more than the desire to see her safe. She was a class mate of his, as smart as him, she didn't deserve to be tortured or killed for something she couldn't control.

"You must know what it feels like sir. It feels like being strangled inside out. I'm supposed to hate everything about her but I don't. I don't want to see her hurt. I never want to see her hurt." Draco felt tears beginning to sting at the back of his eyes.

"I swear to protect her Draco." Snape whispered and a flash of light burst from the end of Draco's wand, coiling around both their wrists. It left a pattern like a fishing net across the pale of Draco's hand, he winced when the bright light came close but it felt like dipping his hand into lukewarm water. As the light disappeared, he noticed Hermione's eyes were beginning to flutter.

"Go Draco." Snape muttered, as he realised what had caught Draco's attention.

"What are you going to do Professor?" Hermione was moaning quietly and Draco's mind was a battle ground. A part of him wanted to lean down and check she was ok, another part of him wanted to take advantage of her weakened state and oblivate her, until she remembered nothing of the past few months. He faltered as he thought of the handcuffs around Blaise's wrists, denying him his magic. There wasn't the simple solution of going to Dumbledore either; the only person who could release Blaise was Hermione Granger. Draco thought of a punishment like that, how thrilling it would be to have that connection with her, a reason to chase after her and suddenly he knew he had to be here when she regained consciousness. He had to be the _only _one that was there when she regained consciousness. The Dark Lord couldn't argue with Draco chasing after someone who had stolen his magic, could he?

_No, he'd kill her instead. That's his answer to everything. Kill anything he doesn't understand, act rashly. Never take the time to work anything out. _

He looked at his potions Professor and at the draught of Amortentia he had been brewing, simmering happily away on the cauldron. Granger hadn't even got close enough to see what he had been brewing. Maybe by the time she awoke she would have forgotten everything, the same way she had done with Blaise. Until he had been stupid enough to trigger the memory in her once more. Draco had a reason to stay away from Hermione. If she woke up and forgot, he could trigger a relapse. If she woke up and remembered, he could only hope she felt enough for him to hold her silence.

There was only one thing Draco Malfoy could do and that was leave.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione woke to find Snape hovering above her like a giant bird of prey. Her muscles were weak but she found herself trying to scramble away from him anyway. He was looking at her too intrusively, staring at her as if he had never seen her before.

"Welcome back Miss Granger. The fumes must have had quite an impact. Have you eaten today?" the Potions master reached forward a bony hand and pressed it to Hermione's sweating forehead. She expected to see disgust register on his face but there was nothing, only mild concern.

"Fumes?" she muttered, casting a glance around Snape's office. She was sure she had been in a Potions classroom, a potions classroom with Malfoy. It had been Snape's detention. "What fumes?"

"I had a vial of Veristaseum onto boil. It sometimes affects those with a fragile constitution. You fainted almost immediately."

"I don't remember." Hermione trailed off, staring around her as if expecting answers to leap from the walls. She could smell something funny in her nostrils, something familiar...

"Have I served my detention?" she asked dazedly. She thought she saw the ghost of a smile cross Snape's features before he stared at her as deadpan as ever.

"Perhaps you should go check in with Madam Pomfrey, I think you may have hit your head when you fell." Snape continued to stare at her until Hermione realised he was expecting her to leave. Gathering herself together she left the room and headed into the deserted corridors. Torches flaring in sconces along the wall lit her path, adding to her sense of unease. Something wasn't right. She waited until she heard Snape's door close behind her and then headed along the corridor towards the classrooms. She looked into each one, sure she had been there that night. Or had it been a dream? She couldn't tell.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N:- Woo I got my first review! Thank you camnz! Yeh Draco is very much in a bad way.

I know this story is rather slow moving but I promise you its Dramoine and they will eventually find a way to make it work between them. This story is purely from Hermione's Pov.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione didn't bother going to see Madam Pomfrey. She knew the highly strung witch would spend hours prodding her and casting spells over her, not believing for a second that Hermione had simply fainted. _But did you really faint? _The question kept niggling at her as she made her way back towards the dormitory. She could remember entering Snape's office, the sheaf of essays he had been marking with a look of grim glee on his malevolent face. She was almost certain she could remember watching Malfoy through a classroom doorway. He had been muttering angrily to himself and she had been curious. He was always so put together, never a hair out of place that Hermione had felt he was opening up before her, like a poisonous flower and she had wanted to imprint the sight on her memory. The Slytherin Prince coming apart. She kept expecting to wake up in her dormitory but when she pinched her arm she let out a gasp of pain.

_No, I'm definitely awake. _She muttered the password for the Gryffindor common room to the fat lady and let herself into the quiet common room beyond. She looked through the window curiously, it was pitch dark outside and only four or five students were still awake, heads over books as they tried to cram in a bit of last minute studying. She recognized a ginger head slumped on the sofa and made her way over to Ginny, who pointedly stared straight through her. Hermione sighed and slumped onto the sofa beside her pissed off best friend.

"Ginny I'm sorry. I completely forgot about my detention." she pleaded and watched the red head fight with herself before she turned to face Hermione and gave her a small smile.

"It's not that. There's something strange going on, you're different. Did you sleep with this mystery boy? Is that what you can't tell me?"

Hermione felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she thought of Malfoy's hands moving over her before he had pushed her away. She shook her head and Ginny sighed disappointedly. She had always hoped her best friend would find a way to embrace her sexuality because Hermione Granger may not have known it, but everybody else in Gryffindor did. She was sexy, if only she let herself get carried away once in a while. If only she kicked back and had a little fun. Ginny felt a flash of concern when she turned to find Hermione lying against the back of the sofa, her eyes distant.

"Are you alright?"

"No. I had the strangest detention ever. Snape says I fainted but I'm sure I remember...something else."

"What do you remember?"

"I can't tell you."

"Jesus Hermione, is there anything you can tell me these days? It doesn't even feel like we're friends anymore. I knew it was going to be difficult when you broke up with my brother but I always thought we could tell each other anything. Good night Hermione." Ginny stalked to the foot of the staircase leading to the girls dormitory then hesistated.

"Harry asked me to the ball you know. It was really nice. He took me a walk around the loch and asked me." there was no less anger in her tone but Hermione felt a prickle in the region of her heart as she regarded the girl who had given her advice on almost everything. Ginny had always been there to listen to all Hermione's rants about her brother, had always given Hermione a shoulder to cry on.

"Gin, I think Draco Malfoy is a death eater. And I think I may have feelings for him." she rushed the words out before she could change her mind. She half expected Ginny to faint against the stairs but her friend managed to retain her composure; her pale blue eyes went as wide as saucers and she walked over to the sofa in a daze, before collapsing onto it.

"You think he's a Death Eater? Surely he wouldn't be that stupid." Ginny finally muttered, her voice strangled. Hermione tried to reason with herself, Ginny had never been fond of the Malfoy family; her blood was just as pure as theirs but they had always looked down on her and her family. Hermione wondered how she was taking the news that her best friend might have feelings for the heir. Hermione didn't even know how she was feeling and she was the one with everything rushing through her. She wasn't going to act on her feelings, of course she wasn't. It was just a teenage infatuation and honestly, half the school fancied Draco Malfoy.

_Yes Draco Malfoy the Slytherin Prince, not Draco Malfoy the Death Eater. _

She looked at her best friend, who was as pale as milk. The other students in the common room were paying them no attention, she could at least be glad of that. She didn't want the whole school knowing her confession.

"Is he the one that was playing with you?" Ginny finally muttered and Hermione nodded. She wondered if she should tell Ginny about Blaise Zabini but she had already had her revenge on him. It wasn't worth considering the bet.

"I don't understand. Has he hurt you?"

"No."

"Then why aren't you going to the Christmas Ball together? Let me guess, the little ferret is too scared to ask you, scared what his daddy will say. I swear to god I'll curse him into the middle of next week next time I see him." Ginny was riling herself up now, as she always did when she didn't know how to react to a situation. The Weasley temper was notorious and Hermione held up her hands in a pacifying gesture. The thought of Ginny hexing Malfoy into the middle of next week did hold a certain appeal but she shivered as she thought of the Dark Magic he was probably capable of. The Dark Mark wasn't given out to just anybody. Suddenly a flash of memory hit her and she gasped.

"I didn't faint. Something happened in the classroom. I heard him muttering about it itching."

"The Dark Mark?" Ginny fumbled and Hermione nodded. The memory was too vivid to be a product of her tired imagination and she remembered the hunted look Malfoy had given her when he had rounded to find her at the door. He had pinned her against the door and although her heart had beat wildly in her chest in fear, she had wanted to reach out and hold him closer. She shook her head and tried to dispel the thought. What was she going to do? If Draco Malfoy really was a Death Eater didn't she have a duty of care to the students of Hogwarts. She should have been marching to Dumbledore's office at that very second but she found she couldn't move. She thought of Hogwarts without Malfoy in it. A month ago the thought of being the one to have Malfoy kicked out of Hogwarts would have had her skipping.

_Dumbledore knows that death eaters walk these halls. _

"Ginny, I have to ask you to promise not to tell Harry. Not yet. Please, I think something is wrong." Hermione turned to Ginny and grabbed onto the shaken girls hand. "Bet you wish I hadn't told you now."

"Yeh I'm thinking that." Ginny muttered, grinning cheekily.

They hugged tightly before heading off to their separate dormitories. Hermione couldn't help but worry that Ginny would crack and tell her secret to Harry. She tried to picture her friend's faces if they ever found out she had been lusting after the Slytherin Prince.

_Do you think he felt anything for you? _She remembered the fire in his eyes as he had pinned her against the doorway. There had been something there, something wild, like an animal cornered. She made it to her dormitory and was about to sink onto her bed when Lavender gave a squeal.

"Don't sit on them Hermione." she yelled, leaping from her bed and snatching up a box of expensive chocolates, thrusting them at Hermione.

"Are these for me?"

"No they were just on your bed for no reason." Lavender sniffed, before returning to her own bed, peeking out from the gap in her curtains at Hermione's reaction. She stared at the dark brown box, they were expensive chocolates, her favourites: strawberry chocolate. She read the small card attached to them and felt a wave of disappointment crash over her.

_I'm sorry for everything. Go to the ball with me, Ron. _

"Who are they from Hermione?" Lavender finally cracked, desperate for gossip.

"Ron. They're from Ron." she tried to keep her voice emotionless, and drawing the curtains around her bed before Lavender could ask anymore questions she let her head sink into her hands and sobbed quietly. "Stupid Hermione. Of course he doesn't care about you. Why would he? He can have anybody he wants. Put him out of your mind before it kills you, literally."

She threw the chocolates into her trunk and sealed it closed.


	19. Chapter 19

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd probably still be writing Fanfiction though haha.

A/N :- Love will triumph in the end. (Some sexual content, if you don't like, don't read.)

DRACO POV:

"That damn bitch. I'm going to kill her when I get the chance, filthy mudblood. How dare she do something like this to me?" Blaise threw up his bound wrists in frustration and let loose a yell that had Madam Pince swooping down on them like a giant, angry bird of prey. Draco tried to hide his smirk behind his Potions homework but he felt it stretching his features anyway, as irrepressible as a wave breaking over a beach. Granger's handiwork was beautiful, flawless, just like the girl herself. Draco didn't even bother to scold himself anymore, recently all he'd been able to think about was the Bookworm, slumped on the cold floor of the Potions classroom, her brown hair cascading around her ashen face in beautiful, tight wound ringlets. How had he never noticed that her skin was the exact colour of milk, her eyes the deepest brown, so brown they were as thick and luxurious as chocolate. He was glad Granger had wrecked her revenge on Zabini, he had had it coming for a long time and only she could have pulled off magic so pure and untainted. If it had been another Slytherin, Blaise would have been out of the Hospital wing in a matter of hours but Granger had ensured her punishment would last far longer.

"You could always apologise and ask her to take them off." Draco shrugged, smirking when Blaise flipped him off. Blaise's pride would be the death of him. Draco grimaced as his dark mark twitched beneath the material of his black long sleeved sweater and excusing himself from their table in the shadowy corner of the library, he made his way towards the exit. He could see a light burning in the Restricted section but the pain in his arm was intensifying, swallowing every other thought. When he made the safety of the deserted corridor beyond he took off in a sprint to the nearest bathroom. He stood before the mirror and rolled up his sleeve slowly. The Dark Mark was as black as ever. It was now three days old but it looked as though it had only just been branded on his skin. He scratched at it irritably before turning on the tap and splashing it with cold water. Nothing seemed to work, the pain still vibrated through him until he felt blackness sneak over him and he sank onto the wet floor of the bathroom.

HERMIONE POV:

She had thought for a second that McGonaghall was going to question her further on her need for a library pass but the Professor had simply hunted for her glasses and signed the small slip of paper before passing it over the desk to her favourite pupil.

"Don't spend too long in the restricted section Miss Granger. Some of those books have influence that spreads further than the pages." she warned as Hermione ducked quickly from her office, afraid that her unwillingness to divulge what she was researching had already given her away. But nobody stopped her. Madam Pince glanced at the note and gave Hermione the key to the restricted section, along with a gas lamp that Hermione didn't really need but took anyway. The restricted section was Hermione's favourite part of the library although she was not often given permission to use it. The books were made of beautiful old leather but some of the information was no longer useful or relevant. She often wondered why Dumbledore hadn't thrown some of them away but getting rid of dark books was not as simple as throwing them away or burning them. They had ways of preserving themselves. Hermione hunted along the shelves until she found a book that may have contained the information she needed, she removed it carefully from the shelf, wincing as it let loose a puff of disgruntled air and settled herself beside the gas lamp, flicking it open and beginning her research.

She always loved the thrill of starting a new project but this one left her cold and shivery. She was terrified of what she would find, what would happen to her if what she was researching was ever revealed. She thought of Harry and Ron worrying about her, and of Ginny, the only one to know what was really going on. She had had to refuse the younger girls help, which wasn't easy. Once Ginny set her mind on a course of action, she was as stubborn as a mule. Hermione smiled as she thought of her friends and wondered why she was doing this. Why she cared so much about a boy who had made her life miserable for almost five years. But she couldn't stop herself from reading the information in the book, even as a tingle ran up the finger she used to trace the words and she felt her blood beginning to boil.

Yes, the book was definitely dark magic but her instincts had been right.

_The Dark Mark was a powerful symbol of loyalty to the Dark Lord, however it was not always received willingly. In accepting the Dark Mark the follower surrendered his or her will completely to the Dark Lord, therefore those of stubborn temperament often found it hard to accept the pull of the Mark. This would often result in the recipient being pulled towards madness, the Mark will start itching and burning at first, alerting the Dark Lord to his followers betrayal. _

The book dropped from her grasp and landed on the floor of the library with a howl. She didn't bother to pick it up, she was on her feet and running.

She burst into the common room and flew to where Harry was sitting with Ginny on the sofa, holding hands with her awkwardly.

"Harry, I have to borrow the maruaders map. It's urgent, please." Hermione knew she was begging, her worried tone alerting her best friend that something was wrong. Harry had always been too observant for his own good, she fumed as he looked at her quizzically.

"Are you okay Hermione?" he asked, standing up and placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. She was flushed and her vision was distorting but she managed to nod her head convincingly enough that Harry disappeared up the stair to his dormitory and came back clutching the Maruaders Map. Ginny was scrutinizing her curiously.

"Is everything ok?" she asked once Harry had disappeared. Hermione tried to pull herself together but she couldn't, she could only mouth that she would tell Ginny later. She took the map from Harry and made her way upstairs, sitting cross legged on her bed and tapping the parchment.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." at the touch of her wand, ink began to spider web across the page and she anxiously searched the corridors for the dot labelled Draco Malfoy. When she found him, she cleared the map and made her way carefully down the stairs. Her legs wouldn't quite support her as she handed Harry back the map and made her way out the portrait hole, ignoring her friends calling after her.

She pushed open the door to Moaning Mrytle's bathroom quietly, her heart fluttering anxiously in her chest. She wasn't sure why she was doing her best to keep quiet but the sense of unease in her stomach had been growing steadily as she marched along the corridors to the spot the map had indicated. What would Malfoy be doing in a girl's bathroom, alone? She wasn't really sure she wanted to find out. She half expected a hex to hit the door but when nothing happened, she crept in slowly. She could hear the pipes protesting as water spilled from one of the taps, overflowing into a cracked stone sink. Moaning Myrtle swooped at her as she approached the wash basins and Hermione finally let loose the scream that had been threatening to explode from her since she had entered the eerie bathroom.

"He's been like that for almost an hour." the ghost muttered, gesturing to Draco's prone figure. His blonde hair was soaked with overflowing water and his eyes were fluttering wildly, as though he were attempting to stave off an invisible enemy. Hermione's eyes were drawn to the black mark on the skin of his arm. The Dark Mark.

"I knew it! I knew I wasn't dreaming." she muttered to herself before the horror of the situation sank in. She remembered the words of the book concerning the Dark Mark and felt her vision tilt horribly. She grabbed onto a toilet doorway for support.

"Draco, are you alright?" She finally found the strength to move towards him and shook him lightly. His eyes flew open at her touch and he let out a scream that had her scrambling away from him.

"Granger, what are you doing here? What happened?" he stared around disorientated, flinching away from Moaning Myrtle as she circled him curiously.

"You're a death eater." the words tumbled from Hermione's mouth unexpectedly and she blushed, watching as Draco pulled down the sleeve of his sweater, hiding the Dark Mark from view.

"Yes." he replied simply, watching her carefully. Was there a hint of desire in his gaze or was she just going mad? She hadn't slept properly in days and she was beginning to feel as though the world was slowly slipping away from her. Draco pushed himself to his feet and approached her slowly. "Does that scare you Granger?"

She nodded, her breath hitching as she realised how close he was to her, so close she could smell his woody aftershave. She watched a drip fall from his hair and onto his cheek, tracking the side of his face slowly, like a tear drop. She wondered if Draco Malfoy ever cried but the thought was instantly silenced as his lips crashed onto hers. She lost herself in the oblivion of his kiss.

DRACO POV:

Damn, did she always have to taste that good? It was hard to pull away, even harder when her hands moved up and tangled in his wet hair, pulling him against her until he could feel her every curve through her uniform. Wasn't she supposed to be pushing him away, running to Dumbledore at the confirmation everything her and her friends had been hoping was true? They finally had an excuse to have Draco Malfoy thrown from Hogwarts. But he didn't want her to stop kissing him, held her tightly so she couldn't escape. His body moved of its own accord, backing her until she was pressed against the wall, his growing arousal pressed against her leg. He knew she could feel it but she didn't stop kissing him. His hands were under her shirt, playing with her nipples through her bra and still she didn't pull away, only moaned desperately. He ground his hips against hers and slipped a hand down into her skirt. She was wet, the Bookworm was wet for him. Draco felt himself grow harder at the thought, all thoughts of the Dark Lord, of anything that wasn't Granger blasted from his brain at the feeling of her moving against him, opening up to give him better access. She let out a small cry as he slid a finger into her, biting down on his lip gently. She was so tight, virginal and innocent and Draco Malfoy was fingering her, the Gryffindor Princess. There was something so satisfying about it that he let out a primal grunt and moved his finger in and out of her until she was moaning against him.

"Draco, stop, please." her voice was desperate but she made no move to push him away and when he remembered himself, when the pain in his arm reached a crescendo, she sighed her disappointment.

"Fuck Granger." he couldn't find any other words as he caught the scent of her on his finger and felt his lust flare once more, like a caged animal. She looked so deliciously dishevelled that he wanted nothing more than to claim her for his own once more.

"Why are you taking Lavender to the Ball?" the words broke into Draco's reverie and he found himself laughing. Hermione looked at him and then blushed as she realised what she had just asked.

"Did you really think I could take you Granger?" he replied, incredulously.

"Would you want too even if you could?"

"Granger, if you can't work out the answer to that you are dumber than I thought."

"Then you're a coward Draco. This won't happen again." she pointed between them before turning to march up the corridor, her shirt still unbuttoned. He chased after her and stopped her with a kiss that left her gasping before she pushed him away, and left the bathroom. It was only after she had left that Draco thought to wonder how she had known where he was, why she had come to rescue him when she was supposed to hate him, why she ...cared.

HERMIONE POV:

She felt tears slip down her cheeks as she ran from the bathroom, down the corridors until she reached the safety of her dormitory. Drawing the curtains around her bed, she sealed herself in and let herself be consumed by misery. She felt violated, the smell of Draco Malfoy lingered on her skin and the worst thing of all was she didn't mind. She was intoxicated by it, by the feelings rushing through her at the thought of what he had been doing to her body. He was the first to touch her like that, the boy that had hated her since first year. She reached a hand tentatively down into her wet panties and began to touch herself, squirming as her body tightened, like a wound spring until with a burst of light, she felt a moan escape her lips.

"Draco..." she let it tail into the silence of the dormitory and knew that she was in over her head.


	20. Chapter 20

DISCLAIMER: - Don't own Harry Potter.

THE CHRISTMAS BALL PART ONE

DRACO POV:

Draco fastened the cloak his mother had given him for the Christmas Ball around his neck and regarded his reflection in his full length mirror. He looked as good as he always had, but there was a coldness in his eyes now, the hunted look he hadn't been able to dispel since the incident with Granger in the bathroom. He had tried so desperately to cleanse his thoughts for each time he found them straying, his Dark Mark would burn painfully but nothing helped. She floated behind his eyes, and her words...they echoed in his dreams. He was a coward, Draco had finally come to realise it and the realisation made what he was feeling all the more poignant. Cowards ended up dead, that was the way of the world.

A knock startled him from his reverie.

"Come in." he sighed, tugging at the cloak one last time. It was beautiful, the deepest green he had ever seen and it set off his platinum hair handsomely but he found himself wishing he could just crawl straight into bed. Why had he agreed to the stupid dare on the train anyway? He hadn't even thought of the girl who had abandoned him since everything with Granger had started. He was ruled by his damn pride and now he was about to stamp all over it. Blaise stepped into his room, looking dashing in a set of silvery grey dress robes.

"Lavender's starting to get twitchy. Theo's managed to convince Crabbe and Goyle to have a little fun with her." he let out a gust of laughter and flopped onto Draco's bed. The cuffs were bright white against his dark skin and Draco felt, suddenly, like laughing. He thought of Lavender in the common room, surrounded by Slytherins doing their best to make her uncomfortable and hoped she would cave and run away. But no, she was too stupid for that. After all she had dated the Weasel.

"Have you seen what she's wearing? She looks like an after dinner mint." he laughed as he bruised a speck of dust from his shoulder. He had known Lavender would turn up in something green, as he'd requested. She was too dim not too. How was she supposed to know that Draco Malfoy liked a challenge?

"I was really hoping to have finally bested you but I guess the games go on."

"Can you imagine how dull this place would be if we didn't play these games?" Draco found himself wondering. Granger hadn't been the first to fall victim to a Malfoy/Zabini dare but she was definitely the one to last the longest. The image of her keening his name flashed behind his eyes and Draco let himself drift away on the memory.

"You don't really like the Bookworm do you?" Blaise was suddenly standing, his green eyes hard on Draco's own.

"I think I might." Draco replied honestly and waited for the hex to hit him.

"If only her blood was pure. Can you imagine how powerful she would be? I mean I still haven't found anything about these things in any of the books in the library. I think she may have made the spell herself. I'm not going soft I just feel its my duty to warn you not to get in over your head. I still want to kill the little bitch and I don't care if you're screwing her or not." Blaise huffed, tugging hi robes down over his cuffs. They seemed to sparkle golden at his words but Draco thought it was best not to point it out to Blaise. They left the room together, Draco feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his chest.

HERMIONE POV:

"So she definitely said she'd go with you?"

"For the last time, yes Harry, she said she would go with me!"

"And you really asked her?"

"Jesus, Ginny distract him please before I curse him." Ron huffed and stamped over to the fireplace, gazing into the flames dancing within. Lavender had left an hour before them, wearing something horrible and green. Ron hadn't been able to come up with anything suitably insulting to say so he had watched her leave like a miserable puppy dog. Hermione hoped he cheered up before she made her entrance into the common room. She was wearing the tiny black dress Ginny had forced her to buy and she felt very very uncomfortable. She twirled once more before the mirror, trying to block out the sounds of her best friends arguing far below her. She had finally worked up the courage to accept Ron's invitation, although neither had been able to hide the fact that it was more a pity date than anything else.

She knew Ron had only invited her because he knew nobody else had and that she had only accepted because Lavender had ditched him so cruelly. She held up a thin necklace to her dress and swore loudly. The dress wasn't her, not even in her wildest fantasies. It was too short, too see through, just NOT HER. She tore it over her head and threw it into her trunk. She cast a glance at the underwear she had chosen. It was exactly the sort of thing she should be wearing for what she was planning to do, red lacy knickers and matching bra with a pair of black sheer hold ups. She looked good, not too over the top, classy almost. Or she hoped so. She wasn't really sure of anything anymore. She scrambled to cover herself as the door flew open, briefly forgetting that boys weren't allowed up the girl dormitory stairs. Ginny looked her up and down and wolf whistled. Hermione felt her face going as red as the girls hair as she scrambled in her trunk and finally settled on the purple dress that was similar to the one she had worn to the Yule Ball only the year before. She had been dying for Ron to ask her to that dance, why couldn't she feel the same way as she had then?

"Will you help me with this?" Hermione asked her grinning friend as she pulled the dress over her head and turned her back to her friend. The dress laced up the back, pulling it tight and showing off enough cleavage that Hermione was almost tempted to pull on her school robes and go in those. Ginny's dress was tasteful, she had borrowed it from Bill's wife Fluer and it suited her. Floor length and aquamarine, it brought out the golden tint of her hair.

"You're not dressed up like that for my brother are you?" Ginny finally worked up the courage to ask as she pulled the dress tight and watched Hermione's figure come together. Ginny had thankfully had enough time to warn his brother to be on his best behaviour but she had a feeling Ron would still find a way to cock the night up. It was Ron after all. When silence met her question she looked at the stony face of her friend. Hermione felt tears sting at the back of her eyes that she brushed away quickly, hoping Ginny wouldn't notice but it was too late, the red head had spotted them.

"Hermione, you can't."

"Why not? He asked me to the Ball didn't he?"

"Are you doing it to make him jealous? You can't use my brother like that. I know he's a jackass but he doesn't deserve it. And neither do you. I thought you wanted it to be special." Ginny protested, fastening the clip of the necklace Hermione offered her and sweeping her friends curls back from her shoulder. "Hermione, is that a hickey?" she leaned closer to her friends neck and spotting the blush that coated her cheeks let out a whoop that had Hermione turning on her furiously. Her anger quickly turned to panic.

"I have to hide it." she rushed around her room searching for her wand until she found it under her pillow and cast a quick concealing charm on the mark on her neck. She hadn't even noticed Draco biting her in the passion of their embrace but embarrassment had her hiding her face from Ginny's saucy, intrigued look.

"He bit you? Why would he be biting you?"

"He kissed me in the toilets." Hermione could feel herself growing even redder, "He's got really soft lips. Ah listen to me, I sound like a stupid school girl."

"Hermione, I think its about time you were a stupid school girl." Ginny placated her flustered friend, finally convincing her to come down the stairs so they could get the Ball over with.

DRACO POV:

Draco was bored. And humiliated. It was not a combination he was used to and he found it was one he would never like to repeat. He sat at a round white table, nursing a firewhiskey alongside a bored looking Theodore Nott and a sulking Crabbe. They were not the most amiable of companions but at least their moods were as black as Draco's. Theo had been stood up (Draco had found it in him to laugh at that) and Crabbe, well Draco didn't think he'd ever spoken to a girl. Draco had ditched Lavender almost as soon as they'd made it through the doors and enough people had seen them together to assure themselves that yes, Draco Malfoy really had taken a Gryffindor to the Christmas Ball. Nothing in Blaise's forfeit said he had to spend time with the stupid bint. He supposed she was probably away crying in a corner. He really didn't care. His gaze was trained on the door, it had been for the last half an hour and he was beginning to feel irrationally angry at Granger. Where was she anyway? How long did it take her to get ready?

When he saw the Weasel enter the Great Hall he felt a fire break out in the pit of his stomach at who was attached to his arm. She looked radiant, smiling widely at those around her.

_She can't really be happy on that Weasel's arm can he? _He watched them make their way to the dance floor and start to dance, a vicious knot of jealousy twisting his stomach at the sight of the Weasel's hands on Hermione's waist. He wanted her to look at him, wanted to see if she would break when confronted with his gaze but she kept her eyes on the Weasel, or if they did stray, it was never further than Pottyhead and the Girl weasel. Draco finally stormed from the Great Hall and made his ways into the grounds, throwing back his firewhiskey until the burn at the back of his throat was almost a fire. He wanted more, he desperately wanted to feel nothing.

_You're a coward Draco Malfoy, that's all you're ever going to be. _

Before he knew what he was doing he was storming back into the Great Hall and stepping onto the dance floor.

"What do you want ferret?" the Weasel was staring at him, his fists clenched by his sides but Draco had eyes for only one person. The faintest blush was creeping up her cheeks and she was flushed from dancing, she looked practically edible. He pushed his way past the Weasel and stood before her. He could see Pothead moving to stand beside the Weasel but he didn't care. He held Hermione's gaze with his own. Then he bent his head slowly and captured her lips with his own. The Great Hall erupted into noise but Draco was lost in the sensation of kissing Granger in front of the whole school, of feeling her move closer to him, kissing him back.

He hardly felt the punch that knocked him into blackness.


	21. Chapter 21

CHRISTMAS BALL PART 2

disclaimer: don't own hp.

HERMIONE POV:

That kiss was everything she had been hoping it would be. She had seen him storming out, had fought down the desire to follow him and then suddenly he'd been there, tearing Ron from her and claiming her as his own. She should have been offended, she had been a tiny little bit but it was quickly overwhelmed as his soft lips coaxed hers open and his tongue dipped to meet hers. It was the slow motion kiss from a movie and Hermione's stomach was doing back flips. Then suddenly it stopped and she heard a grunt of pain. She opened her eyes.

Draco was sprawled on the ground, clutching his cheek and glaring at an infuriated Ron, whose face was the colour of his hair.

"What do you think you're playing at Ferret?" he was yelling, his wand outstretched and pointed at Malfoy's throat.

"No, Ron wait." Hermione felt as though she were pushing her way out from underwater as she regarded her friend and the boy who had kissed her and wondered how the hell she was going to fix the situation. But she didn't have too. Around her the Great Hall had erupted into chaos.

"Don't you touch him you filthy blood traitor." Blaise Zabini had pushed through the crowd surrounding them, the sleeves of his robes rolled up, ready for a battle. Ron turned his wand on him fearfully, his eyes flicking to the white bracelets enclosing the boys wrists.

"Stay out of this Zabini. This ferret just kissed Hermione, the girl he's been calling mudblood most of his life."

"It doesn't seem like you're fighting for her honour." Blaise spat and Ron turned to consider Hermione, frozen on the edge of the crowd, wondering what the hell to do. She wished she had thought to disappear into the crowd but looking down at Draco, who was prodding his cheek experimentally, she knew she couldn't leave him to face whatever was going to happen. After all it had been her words that had done this. She had called him a coward and the reaction from Malfoy had been exactly what she was hoping for.

"You kissed my Draco." Lavender suddenly burst from the crowd, her thin wand firing a row of pink sparks at Hermione who deflected it silently and stared at the dishevelled girl. Her mint green dress was tattered around the edges and her lipstick was smeared around her lips. Hermione cast her eyes around the crowd and found Seamus, slinking away from the circle with his lips coated in bright red lipstick.

"You're one to talk. Can't even stick to one date? Do you have to take everything that belongs to other people, Lavender?" Hermione shot back, startling when Blaise moved in front of her and warded off the girl's attempt at a curse, the light reflecting from his bracelets. Ron was gaping at them in confusion and Hermione could see Ginny from the corner of her eye, trying to ward Harry from the Great Hall before he could stumble upon the truth. She felt her heart swell with gratitude to the girl. She would tell Ron and Harry eventually, just not tonight if she could avoid it.

"You bitch. He asked me. He would never take you, a mudblood to the Christmas Ball." Lavender screeched, the Great hall falling silent at her words. The clack of Ron's wand against the floor was the only sound.

"Don't you ever call her that again." a quiet voice came to Hermione's left and she looked over to see a fuming Draco, a trickle of blood running down the side of his mouth. His wand was out but Hermione could tell he was holding himself back, anger pulsing through him like electricity.

"Like you haven't called her it for six years Malfoy." Ron retorted, picking up his wand and regarding the gaggle of Slytherins surrounding Hermione, "Come here, Hermione. Let's go back to the common room."

"She's not yours Weasel. She doesn't want to go anywhere with you." Malfoy's voice was still quiet and Hermione winced. There was her plan for telling them slowly shot to hell. Ron's face blanched and he looked at Hermione for confirmation.

"I'm sorry Ron." she whispered. The Great Hall erupted once more and Hermione slipped into the crowd in the commotion, pushing her way through until she reached the doors to the grounds. She was running faster than she'd have thought possible in her high heels, fast enough that she hoped she could out-run time but somebody kept pace with her easily. He caught her over the bridge to Hagrids, pulling her to him in a death embrace. She was sobbing loudly. She knew her makeup was ruined, that she probably looked as though she had rolled through mud but she didn't care. She thought of Harry when Ron told him what had happened at the Christmas Ball. She wondered if Ginny would still try to cover for her. She wondered why Blaise had stepped in front of her when Lavender had tried to curse her, as if he was trying to protect her. Her head felt full to bursting, none of the thoughts within in the least bit similar to a Bookworm's. She almost wished she could go sit in the library and pretend nothing had happened, pretend she hadn't fallen for Malfoy's sensitive side while he was playing her. And then falling for him after, when she didn't know what the hell he was doing.

"It's ok." he murmured into her hair when she was finally able to breathe.

"No, Malfoy its not. It's really, really not." she sighed, unable to explain further. She looked up at the castle over his shoulder and wondered if the Professors had managed to restore order, if the Gryffindors were out hunting for her and Draco with torches and pick forks as they lingered on the bridge. She couldn't go back, not tonight. Not to her dormitory with Lavender squealing at her about how she was a whore, and Ron glaring at her as if she was the one who had screwed up their relationship. And Harry, poor confused Harry who always tried to find the good in everybody. It would be worse having to sit through his nervousness, his attempts at being non-judgemental as assumptions flew around the common room about what the Gryffindor Princess and the Slytherin Prince were doing at that very moment. She sobbed once more as she thought of her best friend's turning their back on her and Draco's arms were tight around her, anchoring her to her grief.

"I need to get out of here. Can we go somewhere?" she breathed into his chest, feeling him stiffen as her breath tickled through his shirt. She hadn't taken the time to notice in the commotion but he looked ravishing in his cloak and outfit, as if he had been born to always wear dress robes. She supposed he was, wasn't that the life of a pure blood? Functions and events, never any attempt at real work.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere. Please."

He led her from the grounds through the ornate gates and gripped her hand tightly. She felt the pull behind her navel that suggested side along apparition and before she could tell him how much she hated travelling this way she was ripped from Hogwarts and thrown into an ornate furnished room, with heavy black velvet curtains and a large four poster bed and two armchairs before a roaring fire. It looked like a high class in but after glancing around once more she spotted signs of habitation, a book open on the floor, a tie over the bed frame that suggested she was in somebody's apartment.

"Draco, where are we?"

"Malfoy manor." he replied simply. She rounded on him, feeling her heart hammering fearfully in her chest.

"Draco I can't be here. If your father finds us. Or if ..,you-know-who." she spluttered, unable to complete the thought of what would happen. It definitely didn't end prettily, that was for sure.

"Don't worry. My father is away on business and my mother is at her witch weekly meeting. Don't ask, I think they magic cakes or something."

"Instead of just baking them?"

"What's baking?" he looked at her curiously until she let out a laugh.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." she took in her surroundings once more, inching away from the domineering four poster bed towards the arm chairs. She wondered if Draco would kiss her again or if he had simply fulfilled her request, sickened by her pathetic state.

"Is this your room?" she finally asked and he nodded, watching her move around his room warily. She examined the books in his bookshelves, running her fingers over the strange titles.

"Can I borrow..oh." she looked around quickly as Draco put his hands against her hips, pressing tightly against her bent over form.

"Hermione, you can borrow any of my books but please tell me, we're not going to spend the rest of the night reading."

"What did you think we were going to do Malfoy?" she found herself retorting even though his hands were beginning to burn her flesh and set a fire in her belly. She twisted around in his embrace so they were face to face, his storm grey eyes focused on her own. They were deep and mesmerizing, she felt her breath hitch in her throat as she thought of his hands runnning over her flesh.

"I thought we could kiss at least."

"Isn't that beneath you, kissing a mudblood?"

"Don't say that word. I haven't called you it in almost three years, since you broke my nose, remember? You're little friends just don't bother remembering things like that." his hands withdrew from her hips, his eyes cold. "I want to kiss you Granger, I thought my little stunt at the Christmas ball demonstrated that. Or do you need reminding?"

"Draco..I" her protests were cut off by his lips against hers, pressing her back into the wall behind them. Her head swirled dizzily as she thought of the fact that she was kissing Draco Malfoy in Malfoy manor of all places, his pure blood home, somewhere she would never be allowed to enter under usual circumstances. But these weren't usual circumstances. She was in Draco Malfoy's room for fuck's sake.

"Granger, stop thinking. I won't do anything you don't want to." he growled, lacing a hand in her hair and tugging her lips back to his. She let go of her control then, kissing him back almost as passionately as he was kissing her. She pushed his heavy cloak from his shoulders, felt his hands push at her bra straps until the dress slid off her and she was standing there in only her underwear. She flushed as she remembered what she had chosen.

"I never thought I'd like the colour red." Draco growled against her neck as he considered the beautiful girl before him. She looked even more ravishing than she did in his daydreams, if that was even possible and he explored each and every inch of her creamy skin, drinking in her delicate moans of pleasure. They were like music to his ears. He unfastened the clasp of her bra and let her boobs spill into his hands, caressing the nipples until they were hard beneath his touch. She was gasping against him now, pulling his shirt over his head and scraping her nails down his chest. He let out a hiss of approval.

He felt her tense as her hands paused at the hem of his trousers and he pulled back from the kiss to look at her.

"We can stop if you want." he whispered raggedly, praying that she wouldn't ask him to stop touching her. He wasn't sure he could.

"I don't know if I'll be any good." she murmured embarrassed and he took her chin in his grasp.

"Hermione, you're amazing." his grey eyes fixed with her own until she was convinced and he kissed her gently. He picked her up and led her to the bed, dropping her onto the covers playfully. He crawled on top of her, revelling in the smoothness of her body against his. They seemed to fit together perfectly, and if it wasn't for the clothing separating them he wasn't sure he would have been able to keep his control. She pulled him down to kiss her and Draco felt his penis give an approving twitch.

Hermione could feel him pressing against her thigh. He was _huge_, she had heard the rumours but she had been so certain that he was behind them all, his big head almost as infamous as his platinum hair. His touch electrified her, but she still gulped nervously as he reached down to remove her underwear, his fingers running approvingly over the smooth lace. She was wet, a strange feeling to her but Draco seemed to approve as he ran a hand up her thigh and dipped it into her core, his finger coming away wet with her juices.

"Do I do that to you?" he whispered as if he had never experienced something so beautiful and Hermione nodded slowly, feeling a blush claim her cheeks. Oh god, was she really about to have SEX with Draco Malfoy? He was kissing across her stomach, his head moving lower until it was between her legs and he was dipping his tongue between her folds. Hermione let out a loud moan and bucked against him. He put his hands on her hips to steady her and tongued her slowly, deliciously until Hermione couldn't see anything except blackness, and his platinum head bobbing between her thighs. The odd sensation of her orgasm overtook her once more and she shuddered, a small moan escaping her lips. She knew he had heard it, the smirk he gave her as he moved up to kiss her told her he knew she had moaned his name when she was coming. He tasted of her and Hermione found she liked tasting herself but she wanted more, needed more. She reached her hands down and began to unbuckle the dress pants he had been wearing to the ball, giggling when she saw his emerald green boxers. He growled and claimed her lips once more, groaning as her hands wrapped around his length and began to move up and down experimentally.

"Fuck Hermione." he hissed through clenched teeth, pushing apart her thighs to settle himself between them. He lined himself up and looked at her once more for confirmation. Her nod was enough, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she thought of what she was doing, what she was letting him take from her. But then there was no more time for think as Draco moved inside of her, slowly, his perfect body arching above her own. She dug her nails into his shoulder as the pain echoed around her, and inside her, her walls clamping down on his penis and causing him to groan.

"Fuck Granger, you're so tight." he whispered into her ear, before kissing down her neck and back over to her lips. She lost herself in his kiss as he began to move inside her, the knot of pain finally unwinding and turning into a sort of pleasure. He moved over her gently but when her hands coaxed him to go deeper, he didn't offer any objection. He began to buck into her, hard and furious, taking her hands and pinning them above her head. She let out a moan as their bodies pressed together and his body tightened like a wound spring. She didn't come as he did, her body too preoccupied with what he was doing to her but when he rolled from her, blood between his thighs, she nestled against him, content in a strange way. She waited for reality to sink in but she seemed able to keep it at bay as a lazy moon drifted through the curtain and Draco's breathing evened out, his body coated with sweat.

"Draco." she whispered sometime later. She was afraid he had fallen asleep but his reply came almost instantly.

"Yes Hermione?"

"Can we do it again?"


	22. Chapter 22

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Harry Potter.

A/N :- I really really enjoyed writing the last chapter. I hope some people enjoyed reading it. Anyway, a random question – does anybody write flash fiction? I'm looking for somebody to barter ideas with. :-).

HERMIONE POV:

She woke up the next morning, disorientated, a dull ache throbbing between her legs. The ghost of Draco's caresses moved over her skin and as everything that had happened came back to her slowly, the dull knot of tension in her stomach unravelling, she turned around to face him.

And met emptiness. His black silk sheets were wrinkled and they smelled like him but he was nowhere to be seen. She sat up, clutching a sheet to conceal her nakedness.

"Malfoy." she called out, her voice quavering uncertainly. Had she fallen head long into his trap? Had it really been that easy to lure her to his manor, have sex with her and then have her killed in one smooth motion? It was so Malfoy-like that she felt tears sting at the back of her eyes. That would be her punishment for ever thinking somebody like Draco Malfoy could have feelings for her. She clutched the sheets to her tighter and felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wanted to collapse back into the painless sleep of the night before, she hadn't dreamed of anything, her mind as blank as a piece of paper. But in the cold light of the morning, in the room of her nemesis (former, did having sex mean their animosity had been laid to rest, she didn't know,) everything came flooding back.

Ron's face when he had asked her for confirmation. Harry's puzzled expression as Ginny fought with him to leave the Great Hall. Blaise Zabini wielding off Lavender's curse with the rings she had placed around his wrists. And Draco's caresses, bringing her alive like no other boy had ever done.

"Back to second names already, Granger? I thought last night might have meant more to you." Draco's head appeared from behind one of the black leather armchairs, a wan smirk on his lips. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. Hermione's worries silenced for a moment, allowing her to take in the dishevelled Draco Malfoy, realising that perhaps she wasn't the only one suffering this morning. He stood up and dusted himself off, he was wearing a simple pair of black pants, the sunlight glinted off his sculpted chest. He came to the bed and started as he saw the tear trickling down her cheek.

"Jesus Granger, I was only joking." he whispered, brushing a strand of her hair from her face. She noticed the determination with which he moved, everything so carefully thought out. There was no trace of irony in his movements, no sense that he was going to suddenly jump away from her and scream 'MUDBLOOD.'

"Sorry, I thought you'd gone." she replied quietly and his grey eyes bored into her own.

"I couldn't sleep. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you up tossing and turning." he replied slowly. She found herself staring at his hands, twisting together in his lap. The Dark Mark was writing angrily against his skin. She reached out timidly and ran a finger over it, causing him to hiss and grab her wrist.

"Don't touch it Hermione. Please." his voice was ragged as he placed a hand over the mark, covering it from view.

"Draco..I." she trailed off, unwilling to spoil the intimacy by revealing what she had learnt in the library. His lack of sleep could have had nothing to do with the Dark Mark, perhaps he was having as much an attack of conscience as she was. She gripped onto the thought.

"I never thought I'd see you in my bed in the morning." Draco's smirk was a ghost of its former glory but at least it was there. Hermione clung to it like a life raft. She was suddenly completely aware of what had passed between them the night before, how much had truly changed.

"Are you more used to pureblood bimbos who can't hold a conversation?" she tried her best at teasing. It came out thin but he gripped onto it as well, a stunted attempt to return to what they had been before. My god, was it always so awkward the morning after? All she wanted to do was kiss him and forget the thoughts raging around her skull. She took her chance, leaning in and kissing him full force on the lips. He was startled but he kissed her back almost instantly, his hands twining in her hair. They fell onto the bed together. Hermione couldn't concentrate on his kisses however, she was remembering girls like Pansy and wondering if that was what Draco Malfoy liked in his girls. He sensed her unease and pulled away, looking at her questioningly. She wanted to tell him but the words wouldn't come. Did she really care who Draco Malfoy had slept with before her? She had known he wasn't innocent, it was no surprise that he knew exactly what he was doing when it came to her body. But she had felt something, a deep stirring in her stomach that had swamped her senses. She had wanted to drown in him.

"You need to stop thinking all the time Granger. You're going to think yourself into an early grave."

"Says you." she retorted primly and he gave her a wan smile.

"I don't want to go back Granger. I want to keep you here." he whispered suddenly, staring deep into her eyes. She felt her stomach back flipping at his words but she knew it was an impossible dream. What would they do trapped in Draco's wing for the rest of their life? If that was even what he was talking about? There were only so many books and sleepless nights she could endure before she would begin to crave contact with others. And he was the same. He spent his life surrounded by Slytherins, how would he cope when he came against her Gryffindor spirit?

_He seemed to cope pretty well last night. _

"I want that too." she found herself replying, running a strand of his fine hair through her fingers. She had always imagined it being rough and coarse, like the boy himself but it was as fine and soft as silk. He leaned his forehead against hers, breathing deeply, their breaths mingling. She liked being this close to him but it made her anxious, butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach. When he kissed her again it was a commanding kiss. It demanded her full attention and she gave it happily, allowing him to push her down and climb on top of her, pinning her with his body. He was hard lines and taut muscles, she found herself running her fingers over every inch of his flesh, exploring as she hadn't had the chance to do the night before. He growled his approval into her ear before nibbling on her lobe.

"I want you Granger. Say you want me too." he was leaving a trail of kisses down her neck, leaving her thoughts in tatters. She tried to grasp onto the meaning of his words but when he bit down on her neck and began to suck, she felt the heat in her belly spiral out of control and she couldn't form words at all.

"Say it Granger." he growled anxiously.

"I want you Malfoy. Please." she managed to push out, her hands reaching into his trousers to grasp his steel length. He let out a moan and began to kiss her once more, desperately and passionately. He pushed away and pulled his trousers off quickly, staring at her naked body in approval. Hermione, feeling bold, stretched a hand down between her legs and began to stroke herself as he watched, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.

"Oh god Hermione." he was watching her hand intently, his own arousal forgotten. It wasn't until she moved and wrapped her hand around him that he realised he was naked as well. He pushed her down and pushed himself into her with one thrust, ignoring the small cry of pain she gave as he entered her abused body. It felt so good to have him inside her once more, the worries Hermione had had waking up sluicing away as he moved inside her intently, biting at her neck and marking her. He pushed a hand between them and began to rub at her sensitive clit until Hermione felt that she was about to lose control. She began to quiver around him, moaning incoherent sentences.

"Oh Draco." she moaned when she felt her release peak. Draco followed soon after, collapsing on top of her. She moved to lie against his chest as he tried desperately to catch his breath.

"I never thought I'd see the Gryffindor Princess touching herself. For me as well. I think that was the sexiest thing I've ever seen." he panted and she felt a blush steal up her cheeks. She had never been so bold before.

"It's Gryffindor courage I guess." she replied teasingly, sticking her tongue out.

"I might need to borrow some of that." he ran a strand of her hair through his fingers.

They were interrupted by a knock outside the door and the high pitched voice that could only belong to one woman. Narcissa Malfoy.

"Draco, are you home? I thought I heard noises."

Draco's face paled but Hermione was quicker under pressure. She dashed from the bed and grabbed her dress, pulling it over her head. She was about to apparate when Draco grabbed her arm.

"Stay." he commanded as he pulled on his lounge pants and a black sweater. She stared at him as if he had gone mad.

"Draco you know I can't."

"Why? My mother is not my father. I want you to meet her."

"But I'm a mudblood."

"No Hermione, you're the smartest witch of our age. Come on." he grabbed her arm and before she could protest he had flung open the door on his mother's startled face. Her gaze slipped from Draco to the dishevelled girl at her side, a range of emotions flickering across her face before she finally settled on polite curiosity.

"Good afternoon Mother. How was your witch weekly meeting?" Draco asked formally, his fingers tightening on Hermione's wrist. She wondered if that meant he wanted her to talk or hide; she had no idea. She stood there frozen and dumbstruck.

Draco's mother was a very attractive woman, petite and willowy with the distinctive Malfoy hair. Her features were as sharp and pointed as her sons, more used to frowning than smiling but she was coldly beautiful nonetheless and Hermione tried not to stare. She didn't feel like the smartest witch of any age standing in Draco's bedroom doorway, in a dress that had clearly spent most of the night on the floor. She wondered what her hair looked like but decided that was probably not the best thing to dwell on.

"Mother, this is Hermione Granger."


	23. Chapter 23

HERMIONE POV:

It felt like time had frozen as she waited for the petite witch before her to draw her wand and blast her into the next century. Hermione felt completely defenceless, her wand was safely sealed in the trunk in her dormitory, although she supposed if she 'accio'd' it, she might have some luck.

_You don't even know where you are, how do you expect your wand to be able to find you? _The thought sobered her instantly and the writhing in her belly returned. She scolded herself again for her lack of caution while trying desperately to keep her face from revealing her thoughts. If it was a trap, she didn't want anybody to be able to claim she had been scared. Draco seemed almost as nervous as she was, he was fiddling anxiously with the sleeve of his black jumper, his gaze resting anywhere but on the woman before him. They looked too much alike, it was almost like looking in a mirror. Hermione resembled her parents only slightly, she had her father's button nose and her mother's brown hair but everything else was a tribute to her grandmother who had died two years after Hermione had started Hogwarts. She had been the only one who didn't seem to mind that Hermione was a witch although, upon hearing about Hogwarts, she had sewn Hermione a cape of the finest velvet, as if she were a witch from a Hollywood movie. Hermione kept it at the bottom of her trunk, it was too beautiful a piece of cloth to throw away.

_Is she ever going to speak? _Hermione was beginning to panic now. Draco wrapping his arm around her waist was the only thing holding her in place until a peel of laughter shattered the silence and caused both of them to start. _She's laughing, why is she laughing? _The unexpected reaction only caused Hermione to panic more, her stomach like a roller coaster carriage, lurching up and down until she was glad she hadn't eaten anything in almost two days. In response her stomach gave a loud growl that had Draco staring at her amused.

"Why, my dear, its lovely to finally meet you." Narcissa Malfoy gifted Hermione with a winning smile before beckoning for them to follow her. "It's such a lovely day I thought we could eat breakfast on the patio. Does that sound alright, Draco, or would you prefer if your mother went off and occupied herself with some other matter?"

"Breakfast on the patio sounds fine mother." he replied quickly, squeezing Hermione's hand as Narcissa swept away from them. Hermione felt dazed as she was led along behind Draco, through corridors lined with antiques and relics of wizarding wars, down ornate staircases where house elves pottered around cleaning and through rooms with a dozen windows through which spilled beautiful sunlight. She caught a glimpse of the gardens beyond and let out a gasp.

"Your house is beautiful Malfoy." she whispered as he dutifully led her away from a set of French windows overlooking a duck pond where swans slid gracefully over the water. It was as though she were no longer in Britain, she had never seen anywhere so tranquil or perfect and the thought that it belonged to her (ex) nemesis had her blushing all the more. She found that she couldn't wait to tell Ginny what she had seen, the disbelief that would register on her best friend's face. They had always joked about the Malfoy Manor being cold and gloomy but it was the opposite – warm and inviting and perfectly suited to a pureblood family such as the Malfoy's. Finally they reached a set of French doors flung wide onto a patio and Hermione let loose another gasp.

"You have a lake!" she floundered as she stared down at the massive expanse of water stretched before her, the sunlight winking across it. "This house is like something from a fairytale."

"We're the richest wizarding family in Britannia. Of course we have a lake." he replied, as if she were a particularly stupid first year. It wasn't until she noticed the beginnings of a smirk that she realised he was teasing her. Narcissa Malfoy was bustling around a tiny table, setting a third place for Hermione as house elves marched back and forward, platters of food balanced on their heads. It was an impressive sight but Hermione couldn't help but feel a twitch for the poor house elves forced to work on such a beautiful day. Draco led her to a seat and held it out for her, smirking at her as he did so. Hermione was sure she was still blushing and while nobody was paying her much attention, she ran a hand through her hair and attempted to tame the wild curls. She wished she had her wand.

"Draco, be a dear and fetch some coffee for us." Narcissa Malfoy commanded and Hermione felt her heart begin to flutter wildly as she realised Draco was leaving her alone with his mother. She, who had never been afraid of much, was suddenly terrified. Draco cast one glance over his shoulder at her before leaving to carry out his mother's request. She heard his footsteps retreating into the house until there was only silence and she was left, staring at the blonde woman uncomfortably.

"I've heard so much about you Miss Granger. It's nice to finally meet you." It seemed Draco's mother didn't notice the tension rushing through Hermione for she continued to lay the table, thanking each of the house elves as they laid their dishes on the table. It was almost as varied as the Hogwart's breakfast, everything freshly baked and smelling wonderful. Hermione's stomach growled her approval.

"Draco talks about me?" Narcissa's words finally sunk in as Hermione laid a silver goblet at Draco's seat, desperately focusing on the task in hand to take her mind off what she had done with Draco this very morning in his room in Malfoy manor.

"He talks about you most respectfully dear." Narcissa replied, staring at her curiosly, "Surely you know this. He's been talking about you since third year where, if I'm correct, you broke his nose."

Hermione felt a blush steel over her cheeks but the older woman was smiling at her gently, an echo of Draco's infamous smirk. Draco appeared behind them with a silver kettle of coffee which he laid on the table and poured into his mug.

"What have you been saying mother?" he looked at his mother accusingly as he sipped at the dark liquid and Hermione felt like laughing at his sudden change of tone. It was almost like having dinner with her own parents, although she had never once taken a boy home with her. She was probably just last in a long line that Narcissa Malfoy had entertained over the years, indulging her sons insatiable appetite. Hermione took a wary bite of a bacon sandwich and found it to be the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. She ate quietly for the rest of the meal, listening to Draco and his mother exchange gossip about various pureblood families that Hermione knew only vaguely. It was a comfortable breakfast for the most part but Hermione couldn't help the niggling thought that she was doing something wrong. She should have been at Hogwarts with her friends, trying to smooth out the ruin of their relationship, not with Draco Malfoy and his mother. It was the oddest scenario she had ever been in and she was quite glad when Draco, on his mother's advice led Hermione inside to show her the library.

"Your mother says you talk about me a lot." she finally muttered as they traipsed through corridors, Draco's hand in her own.

"I don't deny it." Draco replied smoothly, as if the admission were nothing.

"Why did you always pretend to hate me?"

"Because for the most part I did. You can hate and love somebody at the same time Granger. I thought you'd know that by now."

"You love me?" Hermione stopped short, feeling her heart begin to rocket in her ribs. Draco Malfoy had just said he loved her.

"Yes, I do."

She fought for a response but nothing came.

"I love you too. But I still think I hate you more." she finally replied, smirking at him when he turned to look at her.

"Likewise Granger." he replied, smiling.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: - I made them fall in love. Well, that was completely unexpected :P. Anyways reviews would be nice. I keep getting a lot of people taking interest in my 'Heart of Fire' story, I'm currently trying to work on something so if you are reading this as well, say h-ello and offer me some help haha.

Draco POV:

Draco stared at the beautiful girl beside him from the corner of his eye and tried to remember a time he had ever felt as happy. Probably when he was still young enough to think evil fell into black and white categories, when his world had revolved around one upping Potter and taunting his oddball friends. Now, he was professing his love to one of said oddballs and he felt nothing more than a curious, light hearted flutter in his chest.

_She loves me too. _He squeezed Hermione's fingers with his own before stopping at a set of doors. They were carved mahogany, stretching to a vaulted ceiling where cherubs cavorted but he barely paid any attention to the architecture anymore, he was focused completely on the girl before him, chewing her lip anxiously. Her hair was a mess of wild curls and her purple dress was rumpled from lying in a heap on his floor. _It looks better on my floor, _he couldn't help a small smirk cross his features but before he could let his mind wander, he flung open the doors and moved out of her way. He wasn't even sure she was really aware of his presence anymore, her eyes had went as wide as saucers at the sight before her.

"H..how do you have so many books? This must have taken years to collect." she finally stuttered, awestruck. Draco had always loved the library but he was sure it was even better with her in it. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his head on top of hers.

"My uncle started the collection before he died. Some of the books in here are the only intact copies that remain, not even Hogwarts has them although Dumbledore has tried to buy them from my father." He took her hand and led her between the shelves, taking down leather tomes and showing her the delicate lettering on the spines, the hand drawn illustrations and the ancient spells that had fallen out of use. Hermione's eyes danced in the sunlight and Draco left her amongst the shelves, yelling after him each time she came across something of interest. He made his way between the shelves until he came to the last set of bookshelves. He plucked a thin red volume from a shelf, well worn and tucked it beneath his arm. His heart had begun to hammer once more but he managed to walk back to where Hermione had surrounded herself with books and bend beside her, placing the thin volume on top of her pile. She cast a wary glance at it then looked at the spine.

"Mortentia. I've never heard of him."

"It's a her. Some say she's the greatest poet in the wizarding world."

"Would you be one of them Malfoy?" she teased, fingering the book carefully when he nodded.

"I want you to have it." he finally muttered, pushing it towards her.

"I can't take your books." she protested, pushing it back towards him.

"Yes you can. I want you to remember this," he gestured to the library, "for the good times, not the bad."

She nodded once, then began to chew on her lip once more. He wanted to reach out and kiss her but before he got the chance, she began to speak, her words tripping over each other in her haste to get them out.

"Draco, the dark mark, its driving you mad. Voldemort knows you don't want it. He knows you're an unwilling follower. We have to do something, we have to go to Dumbledore. He can help you, I know he can." Tears were streaming down her cheeks now and Draco's mouth felt like sandpaper but he reached out an arm and placed it on her shoulder.

"I know." he whispered quietly.

"You have to get help, he'll...wait. You know?" she peered up at him through her curls, her eyes a deep sea green.

"Of course I know Granger."

"Then why didn't you do something? Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?" her voice was tiny, pleading and Draco felt his heart wrench.

"He would know if I did. He's relying on me being too afraid to do anything, maybe he wants me to go mad." he muttered quietly.

"Draco, he'll kill you anyway, whether you tell or not." she was pleading with him, desperate for him to see sense. The sun slanted through the windows of the library and sent dust dancing before them like a veil. Draco felt as though he were looking at her from a distance, how could he explain the relationship Lord Voldemort had with his followers? How could he explain to her that he had already resigned himself to his fate, whatever it may be?

"Hermione, do you really think every one of the Death eaters believes in what Voldemort preaches? There are a few nutjobs like my aunt but everybody else is more or less in the same boat. The Parkinsons were told to torture their muggleborn neighbours, they had been living next door to them for fifteen years. The mother took care of Pansy when she was younger."

"Did they do it?" Hermione's eyes were wide but Draco was glad to see they were dry. Hermione was stronger than she seemed, he had always known it but talking about Voldemort made him feel weak in comparison. Where was his courage? It had abandoned him long ago, when his father had explained to him the life he would lead. There had been no option for change, no escape route. He was a pureblood and heir to the Malfoy fortune, he would do what befitted that name. He thought of the girl - Lysa and the token at his feet, winking in the firelight and imagined it on Hermione's thin fingers, a dream that could never, ever become a reality. Unless...

"Yes, he'd have killed everyone of them and the muggleborns as well. We don't always get a choice in this life."

"So you'll let him command you until you are dead inside?" the fire was back in her eyes and suddenly the dust floating between them felt like a wall. He couldn't push through and see what she meant, and she definitely couldn't understand where he was coming from. She had all the choice in the world. Draco found himself envying her, muggleborn – her parents knew nothing of the wizarding world and its troubles.

"You think its easy for me Granger? I have to marry some pure blood bimbo and keep the Malfoy line going. I have to pretend I believe you are wrong for me when you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's like having a knife plunged in my soul."

"What would you do if he told you to kill me Malfoy? Would you do it?" her eyes were fierce as she looked at him but as the silence stretched, she began to look fearful. She clutched the book to her chest and Draco watched helplessly as the sobs began once more.

"No." he finally replied. The red leather of the cover was stained with her tears; Draco felt sick, the coffee sitting in his throat like tar.

"I don't believe you." she finally mumbled, when her tears had stopped. She wouldn't look at him but she clutched the book to her chest like a keepsake. As if he was already gone.

MEANWHILE:

"Ginny, go check her room. If she isn't back yet I swear to god I'll kill that ferret. Come on, Harry you've got to know where Malfoy manor is. We could go rescue her." Ron pleaded.

"Ron, why would I know where Malfoy manor is? You're the pureblood remember, shouldn't you know where it is?" Harry replied calmly, squeezing Ginny's hand with his own.

He had slept for only a few hours before Ron had woken him up, agitated, pacing and ranting beneath his breath. It was beginning to grate on Harry's nerves. In the few minutes peace he'd had with Ginny she'd managed to explain most of the story as best she could and although Harry wanted to punch both Malfoy and Zabini's face in, he had to respect Hermione's decision. After all she was the most mature of the lot of them. A part of him knew that she wouldn't have went with Malfoy if she hadn't wanted too. Ron didn't seem to understand that however.

"Didn't I tell you to go check her bed?" he ranted at his sister, waiting until Ginny had huffed her way up the girl's staircase before collapsing beside Harry.

"Ron, Hermione can take care of herself." he pointed out quietly and heard Ron let out a sigh.

"I can't get the image of him kissing her out of her head. She should have punched him, she should have hexed him and she didn't. She kissed him back. I saw it Harry, she kissed him back, the boy we've hated since first year."

"People change." Harry pointed out, gesturing to Padma Patil, the only Gryffindor who had made her views on muggleborns quite explicit. She never normally hung out in the Gryffindor common room, generally preferring the company of the Slytherin's and Harry had a feeling she was there to spy. The thought made him irrationally angry but he fought to keep his temper in check as Ginny flounced down the stairs and announced to Ron that Hermione was indeed not back, and that it didn't look like her bed had been slept in. Ron leapt to his feet, cursing and yelling.

"You didn't need to tell him that part." Harry scolded when she collapsed onto the sofa beside him but when she offered him the cheeky grin he loved so much he found she was easily forgiven. And that watching Ron pace was actually quite an amusing way to spend the afternoon.


	25. Chapter 25

Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I hope this chapter makes up for it. :). Also the lovely people at ASUS wiped my laptop so I've lost all my old chapters.

HERMIONE POV:

Hermione ducked behind a tapestry when she saw his platinum crowned head coming her way. She knew she would have to face him sooner or later but at least it would be in a classroom with a teacher to stop them doing anything to each other. Tearing each other's throats out, bursting into tears or screwing like animals on the desk, Hermione really couldn't tell how she felt when she saw him.

She had apparated from the mansion without saying goodbye to Narcissa or Draco. He hadn't been able to catch her when she had dashed from the library, his stupid book clutched to her chest. She had meant to throw it away but when she had landed in her dormitory, sobbing loudly, she had found she still had the book. She had thrown it into her trunk and covered it with clothes so she wouldn't have to look at it. Wouldn't remember. It was only when she slept that she remembered the way he had touched her, how he had confessed his love to her in the corridor of the Malfoy manor, how he had introduced her to his mother without even flinching.

It didn't help her mood that Ron wasn't talking to her, throwing her angry glances whenever he saw her. Harry was his usual useless self and smiled at her apologetically whenever he saw her. Only Ginny still talked to her as though nothing had happened. Hermione twitched the edge of the tapestry; the corridor was empty and if she didn't hurry she was going to be late for Ancient Runes.

"Why are you hiding behind a tapestry Granger?" his voice was cold but softer than she had anticipated. She cursed quietly and spun to face him. She tried to let her anger rule her but when she saw him, she felt her resolve crumple. He didn't look angry, he looked exhausted, dark bags under his eyes and his hair hung lank in his face.

"Draco, what happened to you?" she whispered. She tried to resist the urge to move towards him but she found herself doing it anyway, reaching a hand up to stroke his cheek. She snatched it back before she touched him but he had seen it, he grabbed her hand and held it to his chest.

"You've been avoiding me." he muttered, his thumb running over the palm of her hand.

"Yes." she replied, staring up at him warily. She should be angry, she should have been spitting mad but she wasn't.

"Don't. Please." his voice had dropped to a whisper and Hermione felt her heart wrench. He pulled up her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I want to kiss you Hermione."

His lips were soft against hers, the kiss insistent and Tasha felt all her resolve drain away until she was throwing her arms around him and pulling him close to her. How could she deny she'd missed him? She had thrown herself into her studies, trying to forget the fire he had lit in her. She hadn't been able to sleep without dreaming he was next to her and waking disappointed when she found it wasn't true. She moaned as he bit at her lip, his hands tangling in her hair. She tried to push him away as she realised they were in the middle of the corridor and could be caught at any moment.

_Well the Christmas Ball at least took care of telling everyone but I really don't fancy talking to Dumbledore about my relationship with Malfoy. _

"We can't do this here." she muttered, disentangling herself from him reluctantly.

"I want you Hermione. I can't stop thinking about you." he leaned in to kiss her and she turned her head. She couldn't deny she wanted him as well, the wetness between her thighs was proof of that. She had never felt anything like it, she had never had such fantasies about any of the boys in her own house. Slytherins were famed for their reputation in the bedroom, it came with the territory and Draco Malfoy was the most famed of all his classmates.

"I want you too." she admitted, "but it's not that easy. I don't trust you."

Draco seemed to cave in on himself with her words.

"Tell me what to do."

"I don't think there's anything you can do. We aren't supposed to be together, that's it. If we stay together, we'll both die."

"Don't give me that bullshit Hermione. We're going to die anyway, whether at the Dark Lord's bidding or no. I'd even be willing to put my faith in Potter if it meant you'd be mine." he moved towards her and caught her lips in a fiery kiss. She felt herself drowning in it and when Draco pushed her against the wall, pulling the tapestry over them, she didn't care if all the teachers caught them. He hiked up her skirt and pushing aside the thin material of her panties, he slipped a finger inside her.

"Oh god, Draco." she felt her insides tighten as her climax built so suddenly at his ministrations. "I want to feel you."

All her resolve, all her anger was gone as he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his hips and fiddled with his zip. He was inside her in one quick thrust, catching her gasp with his lips.

He thrust into her slowly and when he came he shook, his breathing deep and emotion laden. He leaned against her shoulder as he pulled out of her and Hermione felt her heart stop. Draco Malfoy was sobbing.

"Draco..." she let her voice tail off as he pushed away from her and fixed himself. He wouldn't look at her and not even her shouts, her angry demands made him turn around as he stalked down the corridor away from her.

DRACO POV:

Draco's hands were shaking as he fled down the corridors until he reached an empty classroom. Flinging himself inside, he locked the door and let his emotions overwhelm him. When Hermione had apparated from the Manor it had felt like she had taken a piece of his heart with her. He had been left to fumble excuses to his mother, furious with himself at letting her slip away. The truth had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to say. It had been so much easier when they had hated each other, when they were toying with each other. Then they wouldn't be fighting over their duty. He tried to imagine trailing after Potter in his quest against the Dark Lord but the idea almost made him laugh. He would kill the Weasel before the day was out and he'd never get the chance to be alone with Hermione anyway. He couldn't imagine they stayed in fine hotels while they wandered the country, searching for...whatever they were searching for.

Voldemort knew what they were doing. He thought it was extremely amusing that the Potter boy thought he could win. Draco rubbed a hand over his Dark Mark, it was burning all the more brightly now. He was going mad; his brain shattering like a mirror. He felt lost, adrift and the weight of the task he'd been assigned was weighing on his shoulders heavily.

"You will let the Death Eaters into the castle Draco. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your family would we?" Nagini had been slithering around his trembling body, as he rode out the unforgivable curse, biting down on his tongue so hard he tasted blood.

Voldemort had timed his arrival at the manor soon after Hermione had left but Draco was under no illusions that his actions were going unnoticed. No, Voldemort knew and he was taking great pleasure in torturing Draco. He screamed as a flame of pain shot up his arm. They had linked the curses, whatever they were giving his mother was slowly poisoning him as well. He collapsed onto the ground and buried his head in his hands.

"Please, somebody, tell me what to do." It wasn't quite a prayer but it was the closest thing to it; Draco could only hope somebody was listening.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26- DRACO AND HERMIONE

A/N – Song recommendation for this chapter – Hurricane by 30 seconds to Mars. Apologises for the very late update, I lost the thread with this story :(. I've been suffering from awful writers block. Anyway I'm almost finished with this one. Read and review if you like. :).

HERMIONE POV:

It had been three weeks since Hermione had seen Draco cry, for she was sure now that was what had happened. Draco Malfoy had cried in front of her. A few months ago she wouldn't have believed he was capable of such depths of emotion but she knew better now. She knew he had in him the capacity to feel pain as boundless as the ocean, that that was exactly what he was feeling at the moment. And there was nothing she could do about it. He was avoiding her, for want of a better word. She could feel him sometimes staring at her, but whenever she looked up, desperate to meet his silver eyes, he was looking anywhere but at her. He was deep in conversation with Pansy, he was joking around with Goyle, he was making out as if nothing had ever happened between them.

'He's freezing me out.'

She pushed away her toast, feeling as though her breakfast was trying to choke her. She couldn't eat, she was barely sleeping and Ron was still throwing icy glances her way, even though she was pointedly ignoring him. It was growing harder to be around Harry with Ron constantly staring at her as if she'd just revealed she was a Grindalow. Harry tried his best but it wasn't the same, she knew he agreed with Ron on some level. Nothing felt the same.

"I'm going to head to Potions early." she offered the excuse to nobody in particular but Harry nodded at her anyway, before returning to Ron's overloud conversation about Quidditch season. She kept her head down as she made her way out of the Great Hall; she knew her and Draco were the gossip of the other houses. After his kiss at the Christmas Ball, everybody was probably wondering why they were never together. She had heard some Ravenclaw boy's in the library, musing on what she was like in bed. They hadn't known she was there, just a table across, her head buried in a book so they wouldn't see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was every guy's wet dream now. Before Draco most of the boys at Hogwarts had barely noticed her, she could have been a piece of furniture for the notice they took of her. She pulled herself together as she marched from the hall, her head held high. She refused to glance at the Slytherin table as she passed by but she could hear them calling after her, jeering. They probably thought it was really funny that the Mudblood had a thing for Draco Malfoy. Maybe they'd never know the truth. He was in love with her. Or, at least, he'd loved her. Of that she could be sure.

It was coming close to the end of term, the corridors of Hogwarts teeming with students heading for the grounds as the sun finally broke through the clouds. It was a beautiful end to the year but Hermione could find no joy in the weather. Her and Ron were on the politest of speaking terms, which meant they never mentioned anything to do with anything important and Hermione had been invited to the Burrow to celebrate Bill and Fleur's wedding. It all seemed a bit strange. The weather, a wedding coming up. It seemed so normal but underneath the surface, everything was not as it seemed. Dumbledore had been away from Hogwarts for two weeks, Hagrid had come back (thankfully not with a half brother this time) no less bloody than the less time and Professor McGonaghall deducted house points like it was going out of fashion. The teachers were on edge and it was beginning to affect the students as well. Many of them knew that the Dark Lord had returned, although it had been a struggle to get some of them to see Harry's point of view. Hermione stared into the messy depths of her trunk and sighed. She always hated packing up at the end of term. What made it even worse was she didn't know if she'd see her dormitory again; it was terrifying, she was even going to miss Lavender hogging the mirror for an hour every morning. She cast a quick spell to tidy up her trunk and tried not to think of the items hidden beneath her clothes. Madam Pince wasn't the most observant of librarians and so far the objects Hermione had transfigured to look like books had stood the test of time. She would have to charm them so she could carry them, otherwise she'd spend most of the time trekking after Harry and Ron like a pack mule.

Her fragile alliance with Ron had only came around at Harry's bidding. He had warned them that if he was to spend time with the both of them in such small quarters he didn't want the two of them at each other's throats. He had sounded so much like Mrs Weasley's that even Ron had grinned. If she was honest, she was happier than she'd been in a long while now she had Ron's friendship, however tentative back. He was good to talk too, and could keep her mind off other things, namely a blonde boy who she hadn't seen in over a month. She snapped the lid of her trunk closed and flopped onto her bed. She didn't want to be outside with the other students, no Hermione just wanted to relax with a book, the window open so she could feel the summer breeze in her skin. She was going to miss Hogwarts but she hoped that when she left, she could leave some of her memories behind her. She didn't want to drag them with her on the hunt for horcruxes.

It was night-time when she awoke, a heavy weight on her chest. She could hear the deep breathing of her classmates and she shifted, suddenly realising that her muscles were frozen and startled when the book fell from her chest to the floor with a thump. She scolded herself for being so frightened of the noise of a book falling and sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been asleep but her head was pounding dully and she wondered what had woke her up. She was normally quite a deep sleeper. When she saw the shadows move, she grabbed her wand and lit the tip, illuminating the features of a very startled looking Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing here?" she felt her breath catch in her throat and cursed herself for sounding weak. She was supposed to be mad at him, as she was always supposed to be mad at him. How come she could hold such rage against Ron for something stupid but when it came to Draco, she forgave him at the drop of a hat. She gripped her wand more tightly, refusing to be a push over. He looked at her lost, and confused, dark circles beneath his eyes.

"They're here. You have to go." Hermione didn't want to understand the words he was telling her, she felt her stomach plummet to her toes and then he was gone, as if he'd never been there. She gripped onto her wand and ran to the window as a burst of light illuminated the night sky.

The Dark Mark was floating over Hogwarts. She did the only thing she could think of.

"Merib obmerta." she pointed her wand at the centre of the floor. A huge bang had her classmates starting out of their beds, some of them grabbing their wands in their haste to discover the source of the disturbance.

"Listen to me," Hermione's voice was quiet, she had never liked taking charge but her dorm-mates looked at her sleepily, wondering what the hell she was doing, "There's death eaters in the castle. We have to get as many out as we can. Don't try to fight, unless its absolutely necessary. Voldemort, " she ignored their flinching, "will have sent his best fighters. Shield charms. Get your stuff and head towards Hagrid's cabin. Hopefully we can use the tunnel to the Shrieking shack. Wake as many people as you can."

Hermione glanced around the ruined living room of the Shrieking shack and felt her heart constrict. Half the students had made it into the tunnel, the other half were still trapped at Hogwarts, under the care of McGonaghall. She knew they'd be alright as long as the witch was there to watch them but she wished she could have done more to help. Ron came up behind her and handed her a cup of water, it was the only thing they could make and they stared around at the heaps of bodies in silence. Some of them had been wounded, but most were fine and the ones with wounds were being tended by the 7th years. Fred was surprisingly capable with healing spells, much to everybody's surprise. He was bustling around sewing up cuts and staunching the blood flow from various wounds inflicted by the Death eaters. Not in her wildest dreams would she have guessed the numbers that would swarm on Hogwarts, it had felt as if there was a death eater for every student. She had managed to stun a few but there had always been more to take the place of the ones she felled.

"I need to lie down." she told Ron, smiling at him weakly and dragging a mouldy blanket into a dark corner. Everybody was shaken up at the Death eater attack but she was sure it was affecting her for a different matter. It had been the first time she had had a true glimpse in Draco's world, the world he was supposed to be a part of. Was a part of? She couldn't work it out anymore. He had woken her up and warned her about the Death eaters and then he'd disappeared. She didn't know if he was dead or alive, hurt and angry, whether he still cared for her as anything other than a girl he'd once slept with. She wrapped her arms around herself, scolding herself for being weak even as silent tears ran down her cheeks. When she felt an arm wrap around her, she leaned into it without opening her eyes. She breathed deeply; it wasn't _him. _Of course it wasn't him. She opened her eyes and looked up at George, his arm wrapped around her comfortably.

"You okay little one?" his voice was teasing but Hermione could tell there was genuine concern behind it. She nodded, swiping away her tears and pulling herself off George's shoulder, flushing slightly. She had always been friendly with the twins but she desperately wanted to be alone, to cry in peace. George probably thought she was crying over the uncertain future of her classmates. Shouldn't that be what she was crying for, instead of some Death eater who would probably betray her the first chance he got? She started to sob openly and before she could fight him off, George had crushed her to his chest.

"It's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay." he whispered into her hair and Hermione bit back the urge to ask him how he knew. Instead she let herself be comforted, wishing all the time that it was _his _warm arms wrapped around her. The thought only made her cry harder.


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

A/N: - I'm almost finished woo. Will there be a happy ending?

I'm not telling, you'll just have to read.

DRACO POV:

"Crucio." the tip of Draco's wand lit up crimson and he felt a little bit more of his heart break away as he watched Hannah Abbot writhe on the floor before him. The Great Hall looked nothing like it had when Dumbledore had been...alive. The word almost choked him. The windows had blown out at the amount of spells being thrown around in the first battle, his feet crunched over shards of glass as he circled the writhing body. The tables were scarred, pushed up against the walls and Voldemort had charmed the ceiling to display the Dark Mark amongst stormy clouds.

They had taken the castle easily, after Draco had let them through the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. He'd had barely enough time to get away to alert Hermione, he knew the Dark Lord suspected a traitor had sold him out but he wouldn't change what he'd done for all the money in the world. It did mean that Voldemort kept an even closer eye on him than the rest of his supporters and he enjoyed watching Draco torture his class mates. He could feel his snake like eyes on the back of his neck as he gripped onto his wand more forcefully, trying to ignore the girl's screams.

He had never really known Hannah Abbot. She had been a Hufflepuff from the colour of her robes and they'd maybe had potions together once but to keep himself sane, he didn't look at her. Even when his eyes were trained on her, he wasn't really seeing her. At the thought of Granger writhing at the tip of his wand he could taste sick at the back of his throat. He lifted the curse and slumped to his knees, his eyes meeting the girl's for the first time. They were swimming with tears, and hatred, pure, unadulterated hatred and he wished he could tell her to hold onto that. That hate might just be what kept her alive.

"Well done Draco. You truly have your father's taste for the Unforgiveables." the Dark Lord's fingers crept over his cheek before yanking him to his feet, roughly by the chin. Draco had never known he could feel such revulsion at one man's touch and he tried to wipe his thoughts, become a clean slate. In the two weeks since they had taken Hogwarts, his skills at sealing off his mind had become unrivalled. No other Death eater could hide away as much as Draco could. He was surprised he hadn't cracked under the pressure; his headmaster was dead and buried, he had let Death eaters into the castle and now he was torturing his classmates. He was surprised the Dark Lord hadn't seen even a glimpse of the relationship between him and Hermione.

"Get some rest Malfoy Junior. We have more prisoners to torture later."

Draco dipped his head, hiding his eyes from his...master. If there was a word that tasted like poison it was that one. Was that what he was now? A servant. He paced along the hallways to the dungeons. The castle was so quiet now that the Death eaters had taken over. They had confined the prisoners in the Hufflepuff common room, guarded at all times by three highly skilled Death eaters. Voldemort was taking no precautions and Draco knew he was still clinging to the hope that Harry Potter was hiding in the walls. If Draco knew anything about Hermione, Harry would be the first person she'd have woken up. The thought made him irrationally jealous and he wished there was some way he could know she was okay. It was too dangerous to hunt her down; it would be simple with his skills but he knew it would endanger both of them. No, he knew he had to bide his time.

HERMIONE POV:

It had been a risk going back to Hogwarts but the books in her trunk could prove invaluable on their hunt for Horcruxes. Flitwick had managed to escape and had found them at the Burrow, informing them that Dumbledore was dead. Hermione could still feel the hot sting of tears whenever she thought about it. She forced herself to concentrate on the task in hand. She had borrowed, (stolen, was a more accurate term) Harry's invisibility cloak and as she moved through the deserted corridors, her wand clutched tightly to her chest, she couldn't help but hope for a flash of silvery blonde hair. It was too much to hope for. She encountered nobody on the way to the Gryffindor dormitory; had to force herself in and out as quickly as she could before memories overwhelmed her. She felt the weight of the Portkey she had created in her pocket. It was her ipod, something she figured nobody at the Burrow would bother to touch. Arthur had been put off after he'd dropped her mobile phone in the toilet and she had given him into trouble. The comparison to Mrs Weasley was not something Hermione ever wanted to hear again.

She felt the ipod begin to warm in her pocket and stuffing the books desperately into her rucksack, she wrapped her arm around it and let it transport her back to the Burrow, knowing this would be the last time she'd probably see the Castle where she had grown up and fallen in love.


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

A/N:- All characters ect belong to J.K Rowling. I'm just borrowing them, returning them in perfect condition hopefully.

HERMIONE POV:

She paced the tent restless, the weight of Rowena Ravenclaw's locket burning her skin, right over her heart. She wished she could take it off but they were taking turns and fair was fair. Ron had been wearing it for the past two days, complaining every day about the giant ruby stone in the centre, how girly a Horcrux it was, as if they all had to be giant snakes. Hermione had thought it was beautiful, until it was her turn to wear it. The stone seemed to be on fire within, sparkling cruelly even in the dead of night and she could hear thoughts, thoughts that weren't her own buzzing around her head, seeking entry. She flung herself onto her narrow bed and tried to lose herself in the book she had been reading, a battered first edition of 'Dark Objects; their purpose and history,' stolen from Hogwart's library.

They hadn't heard anything from Hogwarts in over six months. They hadn't heard much of anything in over six months. They had made it impossible for them to be traced, even by members of the Weasley family and the Order of the Phoenix. She knew it had almost killed Ron to shatter the Weasley clock but they couldn't risk it falling into the hands of the Death eaters. The six long months had taken their toll on everybody; even Harry, normally so calm and level headed was beginning to fray around the edges. Living in such close quarters wasn't helping. She'd packed the biggest magical tent she could find but it still felt like they were on top of each other all the time. She rolled over in her bunk and faced the canvas wall, taking the locket out from under her jumper. Harry had warned her not to touch it anymore than was necessary but it was so beautiful in comparison to their bleak surroundings. Hermione was sick of trees and forests; if she never saw another one in her life it would be too soon. And most of all, she was sick of her 'friends.' Harry spent most of his time moping after Ginny, who he'd left behind at the Burrow for her own 'safety.' Hermione was almost certain Ginny would have defeated the Dark Lord faster than Harry ever could. He spent most of his time practising charms on trees and letting Ron invade his mind. His skills hadn't improved in the least and everytime Voldemort caught a flash of Harry's thoughts, they had to pack up the tent and move. Hermione was running out of Muggle destinations that were isolated enough to be safe.

She stroked a finger over the necklace and heard a soothing voice whisper in her ear.

_You can be the most powerful witch in the country Hermione Granger. You don't need those two wizards. They sneer at you behind your backs, they'll never need you as much as you need them. You're all alone, aren't you Hermione? Do they even care? _

She felt hot tears slip down her cheeks and tucking the necklace back into her jumper, she sat up and rested her head in her hands. She was so tired, bone tired. She couldn't sleep with Ron's stupid radio hissing in the middle of the night. She looked up as her two friends came back into the tent, arguing as usual. Ron had a dead deer slung over his shoulders, blood dripping from a wound in its neck. Hermione felt her stomach turn as they made their way through to the kitchen and started to cut up the meat.

"Hermione, dinner's ready."

She must have slept; the next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Ron and handed a plate of steaming...stuff. Ron definitely hadn't inherited his mother's talent for cooking.

"I'm not hungry." she pushed the plate away and stood up, slipping from the tent and into the night. The forest was dark, she walked to the edge of the wards, testing them between her fingertips. They were still strong.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

It was Ron. She had been hoping for Harry, but she plastered a fake grin on her face anyway and nodded at her friend.

"Do you miss your parents?"

Hermione felt a weight lodge in her chest and she shook herself. She'd did what she had too, she just hoped it was reversible when the time came. If the time came. She could see Harry's silhouette moving behind the canvas walls of the tent; everybody's faith placed on one boy's shoulder.

_He can't do it. He's weak, the memory of his parents holds him down. He'll crack and the world will fall into darkness. You can change the course of the future Hermione Granger. _

"Yes Ron. Of course I miss my parents." she snapped angrily. He took a step away from her, anger flaring in his eyes. Suddenly she wanted his anger. She wanted him to stop dancing around her; she wanted to be treated like the powerful witch she was.

"How did you know Hermione? That the Death eaters were coming to Hogwarts?" Ron's question took her by surprise and she gaped at him.

"Draco told me." she spat.

"The Death Eater? The one who broke Hannah Abbot and made her mad?"

"Yes, the same one. He saved your life, you could at least be thankful for that."

"And everything else he's done is forgiven because of one good deed? What the hell is wrong with you, Hermione? How can you love somebody like that?"

"Oh, instead of somebody like you? The boy who eats his feelings and thinks with his dick? You had me and you lost me Ron. That was all you, nothing to do with Draco."

"I hate how you say his name."

"I love saying his name. I used to scream it when he fucked me." she retorted and gasped as Ron's hand connected with her cheek. She had her wand out in a second, pointed at his chest. She could hear Harry's voice coming from the tent and then suddenly he was beside Ron, staring anxiously between his two friends.

"Go on Harry. Take Ron's side. You always do."

"Hermione, give me the locket." Harry held out his hand and Hermione reached into her jumper and pulled the locket free. It puddled in Harry's palm and some of her anger left her. "How do you feel?"

"The same as I did a second ago. I can't stay here. Not with him. Not anymore. It's too hard, I'm sorry Harry." she replied quietly, lowering her wand. Ron was glowering at her but she could see that his cheeks were flushed, his eyes boring into hers painfully.

"Why?"

"Because, as Ron likes to point out any chance he gets, I'm in love with a Death Eater." she admitted quietly. Tight arms wrapped around her as she started to cry, everything bursting from her in a tidal wave. Harry's spicy scent filled her nostrils and she wished she was still wearing the locket

so she could blame her outburst on the tiny piece of Voldemort within but no, this was all her. The depth of her feelings was overwhelming.

"We'll find you somewhere safe until this is all over. It's going to be alright."


	29. Chapter 29

A/N:- This is the final chapter and a major achievement for me. I've actually finished a fan fiction :-D. Anyway, reviews would be lovely.

Disclaimer: - I don't own Harry Potter. Although that would be amazing...*stares into space dreamily.*

ONE YEAR LATER

Hermione stepped from the shower and wrapped a fluffy towel around herself, avoiding her reflection in the large mirror in the bathroom. She had tried asking Charlie to remove it from the wall but she had lost her courage; each time she showered she tried to create enough steam that there was no way she would be able to see her reflection.

In the year that had passed, things had changed a lot for book-worm Hermione Granger. She was twenty one now but she felt older, although that was much the same for everybody who had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort. The Weasley clan had it worse; they had lost Fred and Mr Weasley and for all they heard from Ron, they might as well have lost him too. He certainly didn't talk to her anymore. She still heard from Harry, intermittently when he managed to pull himself away from Ginny. She couldn't really blame him, if she'd had somebody to lavish affection on she wouldn't have been able to pull herself away either. She dried herself off and pulled on her pyjamas, a pair of blue shorts and a yellow tank top before letting herself out of the bathroom and dashing across the corridor to her room. The tiny flat she shared with Charlie Weasley in Romania was burning hot during the day and freezing at night and Hermione was looking forward to diving under her covers.

It had been Harry's idea to send her to Romania and Charlie Weasley had grudgingly agreed to put her up in his tiny flat. Her room was a cupboard and it had taken a while for her to get used to Charlie's routine. He was nothing like his brothers, he was quiet and preferred his own company but gradually, through a love of books and fine food, they had become good friends. She didn't know how she would have gotten through everything if it hadn't been for her burgeoning friendship with Charlie Weasley.

She grabbed her wand from her bedspread, lit a fire in the hearth and dried her hair. She hadn't lost her love of magic, despite all she'd seen. Crookshanks sat on the window-sill, purring contentedly as he looked out over the dragon enclousure. It was one of the best things about Charlie's tiny flat, from the window she could watch the trainers battling their dragons and Hermione loved curling up on her window-seat with a book . She had always found dragons interesting creatures, they fought for every inch of their identity and Hermione admired them, more than she would ever admit. If Charlie knew he might try to convince her into one of the pits. She plugged her ipod into her ears, pushing away the small flare of memory at the muggle life she had lost, and flicked through her favourite playlist as she always did before going to bed. She couldn't say she was happy but by keeping herself distracted, she wouldn't think about..._him. _The man that had haunted her thoughts for over a year, every time she closed her eyes, he was there, reigning poison kisses all over her body. And the worst part was she craved them, even after everything she heard he had done during the war.

I must be mad, she thought to herself as she flicked through her playlist and finally settled for an old song she hadn't listened to in a while. 'Ordinary Day' by Vanessa Carlton.

She let the song wash over her until she heard a crash coming from the direction of the living room. Pulling her headphones from her ears, she frowned, grabbing her wand and pulled open the door to her bedroom timidly.

"Charlie?" the hallway was dark but she could see a crack of light coming from the living room. She went on tip-toes, her heart hammering in her chest. Even with Voldemort gone, it wasn't really safe. Death eaters were regrouping all the time and under the right leader, they were downright dangerous. She gripped her wand tighter and took a deep breath before pushing open the door to the living room with her foot.

Standing in the centre of the room was a man dressed all in black, a thick black hood obscuring his face. He had his wand pointed at something on the ground and with a gasp Hermione realised it was Charlie.

"Stupefy." she yelled but it was too late. The man disarmed her easily and her wand floated towards him, out of reach and useless. She waited for him to stun her, do anything but he didn't even reach for her wand, just stood motionless. She could feel him watching her.

"What do you want?" she finally managed to force out. Her voice trembled and when the man reached to drop his hood, she wished she wasn't powerless.

"You."

He peeled his hood back as Hermione felt tears well in her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself as his white blonde hair and grey eyes that had haunted her dreams were revealed to her, in flesh form. She couldn't move, she could hardly breathe. Charlie was still lying on the floor, motionless but she could feel his eyes on her. She forced herself to walk to where her wand hovered in the air and removed the body binding curse from Charlie. He sprang to his feet and moved behind her, glaring at Draco.

"Hermione, I can get him out of here if you want." She could feel Charlie shaking behind her, he might have been nothing like his brothers but he hated Malfoy more than most. He had been the one to wake her up when she was screaming, sobbing because he wasn't there and she didn't know if she wanted him to be. After everything he'd done, she should have hated him but she'd done things she wasn't proud of as well. The war had been a different time and everybody had done things they would never have considered doing under normal circumstances.

_Everybody. _

She looked at the man standing before her, the one she had claimed to love and felt a hot gush of tears spill down her cheeks. She saw him move towards her but Charlie was there first, pulling her against his chest so she could smell his deep musk from his day working in the pits. It wasn't the smell she craved but she let him comfort her until finally she pulled herself together.

"You should go." Charlie's gruff voice barked as she pushed herself away from her chest and swiped at her tears.

"No. If Hermione tells me to go, I'll go."

His voice had lost none of its sensuality and it made tiny shivers run down Hermione's spine.

"I think its pretty clear she wants you gone Death eater." Charlie replied, brandishing his own wand at Draco's chest. Draco didn't move, didn't flinch but she could see the liquid of his eyes solidifying, as it only did when he was angry and doing his best to conceal it.

"Charlie, will you give us a few minutes?"

Charlie turned a flabbergasted stare on her and she was reminded of his little brother, on the day Draco Malfoy had kissed her at the Christmas ball. Her lips tingled until she couldn't look at either of them for fear they would see the conflicting emotions rushing across her face. She wanted desperately to kiss the man she loved, to lose herself in him but she knew she couldn't, shouldn't. She had to get the answers she needed first. Grudgingly Charlie left the room and they were alone together for the first time in over a year.

"How did you find me?" It was the first question she had to ask. Harry had set up spells around Charlie's home that would protect them from the Death eaters. They weren't the strongest of spells but they did manage to keep out anybody marked with the Dark Mark. She thought of the ugly tattoo on Draco's arm and how violently it reacted in her presence and wondered how he could have broken through Harry's shields. He had always been a strong wizard but Harry had matured and so had his magic.

"It took me a while. I finally tracked down Weasley in Germany and he finally told me." he replied. His stare was burning her and Hermione let herself collapse into an armchair, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"You tortured him?"

"No. I never laid a finger on him, or cast a spell although I can't say the same for him. I followed him for so long he got fed up." Draco gave her a rueful grin which looked out of place on his flawless skin. The Slytherin Prince had certainly changed a lot. Beneath his robes, he had grown taller and filled out into his skinny frame. His eyes were deep and haunted, but there was an honesty about his face that went against everything she had ever expected of a Malfoy.

"How did you get through the wards?"

"Some creative thinking." he replied and she raised an eyebrow. He placed his wand on the coffee table and rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. Where the Dark Mark had been was a beautiful dragon, done in the blackest ink. At the sight of her it let loose a small burst of flame that reached to Draco's elbow.

"It's beautiful." she found herself mumbling as Draco rolled down his sleeve, covering up his tattoo. She wondered what Harry would say when she told him his shields didn't work if the Death eaters decided to get their Dark Marks tattooed over.

"Potter doesn't have to worry though. The man who did my tattoo owed me a debt. He won't tattoo anybody else."

She nodded and fell silent. The only question she had left was going to be the hardest and she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"You tortured Hannah Abbot during the war, didn't you?" she whispered. He met her gaze evenly and nodded. She tightened her grip on herself.

"Did you want too?"

"No." there was no hesitation in his voice, "I helped her to escape."

"She was mad."

"I know. That wasn't at my hand."

"She tried to rip apart Ron."

His familiar smirk had taken over his features and Hermione felt her heart flutter in her chest. She scolded herself, they were talking about one of her classmates and the horror of the war.

"I definitely didn't have anything to do with that. Although I'd love to say I did. You tortured Yaxley didn't you?"

Hermione let out a startled gasp and looked up at him. How could he have known? He was examining her with his steel grey eyes, waiting for her to reply. Was she really contemplating lying to him?

"Yes I did."

It had been a moment of weakness, and Shacklebolt had caught her and had her remove the spell. It had been a particularly nasty spell she had found in the Restricted Section and never had the guts to try out. She could have given any number of reasons for why she had done it but there was none that could take away from the fact that she had tortured another human being. She rested her head on her knees.

"He promised to kill you before I killed him."

"You killed him? Why?"

"I did everything I could do to sabotage Voldemort. I couldn't join the Order but I was good enough Occulmens to hide away my little discretions." he replied smoothly.

"You killed Death eaters?"

"While I was dressed as one, yes."

"That was incredibly brave of you... Malfoy." she stammered. She couldn't bring herself to say his given name. She wanted desperately to reach for him, to kiss him with all the fire raging inside her but she fought it down until it was little more than a bubbling in her chest.

"Hermione, please don't call me Malfoy."

"Draco." she whispered as he moved towards her, slowly.

"I've thought about you every night we've been apart. Worried about you, wanted you. I thought I was going to die without ever getting the chance to see you again."

He was before her when she leapt from her chair and put it between them. He looked hurt for a second before his face went back to being expressionless. How could he do that? Speak about his emotions in such a detached manner. At least Ron had had fire. She had known he lusted after her but with Draco, she couldn't tell if he was just toying with her for his own amusement. A year was a long time, he might have changed. When had she gotten so suspicious?

She watched as he turned his back on her and walked towards the door.

"I never stopped loving you." he didn't turn to face her but kept his gaze on the door. Before he could reach the handle, Hermione had her wand out and pointed at him.

"Petrificus totalus." she incanted, watching as his body fell onto the ground, as stiff as a board. She approached him timidly, staring down at the man who had captured her heart. Despite his flaws, all the differences between them, he was perfect in her eyes. She knelt down beside him, his grey eyes watching her calmly despite the fact he couldn't move. She bent down and pressed her lips to his, starting in surprise as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her on top of him so they were pressed together. She felt a flush creep up her cheeks as she realised how unrealistic her dreams had been. This was far better than anything her imagination could ever conjure.

"Hermione Granger, will you marry me?" he whispered against her lips.

"Yes." she replied without hesitation, reclaiming his lips once more and losing herself in his kiss. When he slipped his crest over her finger, she knew nothing would ever feel as right as it did, as if some magic was tying them together.

_Yes, its a magic called love. _

Draco Malfoy had really broken up the girl.


End file.
